Clarkson Men's Basketball Preview - at North Country Invitational (11/20-21)

After two games the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team is still seeking its first victory of the season, and the Golden Knights look to tally one in the win column this weekend when they travel cross town to take on a pair of opponents in the annual North Country Invitational, held at Maxcy Hall on the campus of SUNY Potsdam.

The Golden Knights narrowly fell to Morrisville State in the season-opener and struggled against Plattsburgh State, but Clarkson will look to end its skid against state-funded schools this weekend when they first take on SUNY Canton at 6:00 pm on Friday night and then face either SUNY Polytechnic or SUNY Potsdam on Saturday afternoon.

Junior forward Derek Hart has showed considerable improvement in his third collegiate season, averaging 14.5 points per game on 60.0% shooting through the first two games. Hart posted a career-high 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting in the loss to Plattsburgh and looks to use the momentum throughout the season to establish himself as a force in the Liberty League. Senior Felix Abongo has produced as usual, scoring 14.0 points with 8.0 rebounds per game, and is now only nine points of becoming the 20th player in program history to amass 1000 career points. Freshman Malaquias Canery has also produced 6.5 points per game in just 16.5 minutes per contest. Clarkson will look to improve upon its shooting from the perimeter, as the team has shot just 17.6% from beyond the 3-point line (6-for-34) so far.

SUNY Canton will be playing its first contest of the year and has several top players returning from last year's roster. Junior Sam Annorh averaged 17.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game and classmate Romario Fletcher contributed 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Senior Khalil Bratton shot 50.3% from the floor last year and averaged 10.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.

Potsdam has also stumbled out of the gate with two losses in two games, but has had a solid all-around effort so far. Josh Blagrove, Nosa Onabar and Joe Estramonte have all averaged between 11.0 and 12.0 points per contest through two games. SUNY Polytechnic has played just one game, but Quayshaun Mitchell was impressive with 20 points in the team's loss. Michael Boyea, Tyler Taverne and Peyton Griffiths each reached double figures in the Wildcats' opener.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#42 Derek Hart: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#13 Malaquias Canery: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#42 Derek Hart
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#13 Malaquias Canery
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo

#42 Derek Hart

#13 Malaquias Canery

Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo

#42 Derek Hart

#13 Malaquias Canery