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Men's Basketball January 14, 2015

CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. RIT/Hobart (1/15-16)

Men's Basketball January 14, 2015

CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. RIT/Hobart (1/15-16)

Edged over .500 in conference play for the first time this year, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team will look to take advantage of homecourt this weekend when they take on RIT and Hobart in Liberty League action at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights picked up a 74-72 win over St. Lawrence on Tuesday evening to improve to 6-8 overall and 3-2 in league games, but they will be challenged on Friday by RIT, unbeaten in league play at 3-0 and 7-5 overall, and then Hobart (4-7, 0-2) on Saturday.

Clarkson has won three of its last four games, and the last victory came on the shoulders of guard Conrad Zampier. The junior scored a career-high 29 points against St. Lawrence on Tuesday night and was consistent with 15 points in the first half and 14 points in the second half. Zampier is averaging 11.1 points per game this season, but is averaging 15.2 ppg in five league contests and has reached double figures in seven of the last night games. Classmate Derek Hart has also excelled in league games so far, shooting 67.5% in five contests to push him to 58.3% overall for the year. His 12.8 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game each rank second for Clarkson, trailing only senior Felix Abongo's rates of 13.6 points and 6.5 boards per contest. 

Since RIT entered the Liberty League in the 2011-12 season, the Golden Knights are a perfect 8-0 against the Tigers with seven straight victories by double digits. Sophomore guard AJ Horde will try to end that streak for RIT on Friday evening, and last year's Liberty League Rookie of the Year is off to a great start this year. Horde is averaging 20.9 points per game, including a career-high 47 points on Tuesday in a double-overtime win over Union, and also is producing 4.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game to help lead what is likely the best offense in the conference. Overall, the Tigers are scoring 77.6 points per game (first in the Liberty League), while shooting 46.1% from the floor (first in the Liberty League) and 37.8% from beyond the 3-point arc (second in the Liberty League). Senior forward Kamron Davis is shooting 54.7% from the field and averaging 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. Senior Miguel Lopez (10.4 ppg) and Mitch Herman (10.3 ppg) are also averaging double figures for the Tigers. 

Saturday's game between Clarkson and Hobart will have a different feel than in years past as the Statesmen have a largely new team with eight freshman players among the 14 on the roster. The Statesmen have relied heavily on their first-year collegians so far as the eight players entered the weekend combining for 70.35% of the team's scoring. Freshman Jamal Lucas leads the team with 16.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game while classmate Colin Dougherty is chipping in 11.7 ppg. Matt Walsh, yet another freshman, is averaging 8.3 ppg off the bench and Sean McKinless is tossing in 7.1 ppg. The lone holdover for Hobart that is averaging better than seven points per contest is junior Pete Drescher (7.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.0 spg). Hobart relies on the 3-pointer more than any other team in the conference and it has been an effective weapon for the Statesmen as the team leads the conference in both 3-pointers made per game (9.4 mpg) and 3-point field goal percentage (38.6%).
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Players Mentioned

Felix Abongo

#14 Felix Abongo

G
6' 4"
Senior
Derek Hart

#42 Derek Hart

F
6' 7"
Junior
Conrad Zampier

#23 Conrad Zampier

G
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Felix Abongo

#14 Felix Abongo

6' 4"
Senior
G
Derek Hart

#42 Derek Hart

6' 7"
Junior
F
Conrad Zampier

#23 Conrad Zampier

6' 1"
Junior
G