Knights Have No Answers Against Hobart in Loss

Geneva, NY - Through the first six conference games, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team had allowed just over 60 points per contest and was leading the league throughout the season at 62.8 ppg. After just one half of basketball on Saturday afternoon, Hobart College had nearly reached both those numbers, and went on for a 107-71 victory over the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights were swept on the weekend and fell to 10-8 overall and 2-5 in Liberty League games, while Hobart maintained its top spot in the conference standings, moving to 6-1 in league games and 14-4 overall.

Entering the game against Hobart, the Golden Knights had been defensive stalwarts, not just in the league, but in the nation. Clarkson ranked in the top 50 among over 400 teams in scoring defense (62.8 ppg) and defensive field goal percentage (39.9%), and in the top 10 in the country in 3-point field goal defense (27.5%).

Those numbers edged upwards after Saturday, as the Statesmen were in control from all but the outset. Clarkson had a 6-0 lead after the first minutes, and was up 12-7 at the 16:18 mark of the first half, but Hobart outscored the Knights 50-20 in the final 16 minutes to take a 25-point lead (57-32) at the half. The scoring didn't stop there, as the Statesmen nearly matched their first-half output with 50 more points in the final 20 minutes. Hobart shot 50.0% from the floor (38-for-76) and surpassed that percentage when shooting from long distance, going 11-for-20 (55.0%). The Statesmen also had 45 rebounds to Clarkson's 29, including 18 on the offensive glass.

While the defeat certainly doesn't sit well with the Golden Knights, there were some small bright spots for Clarkson. Freshman Nate Uline (Gansevoort, NY) recorded a career-high 18 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the field, to lead the Knights. Senior Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, NJ), who struggled with foul trouble in the first half, finished with 10 points. Classmate Nik Marquis (Irvington, NJ) came off the bench to score nine points, shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.

For Hobart, 14 of the 15 team members who received playing time scored at least one basket, led by reserve Greg Stern, who tossed in 18 points, all on 3-point field goals. Stefan Thompson also scored 16 points for the Statesmen.

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