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Men's Basketball February 3, 2016

CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. RPI/Union (2/5-6)

Men's Basketball February 3, 2016

CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. RPI/Union (2/5-6)

With most teams having played 10 games in the Liberty League to this point, virtually nothing has been decided as far as playoff favorites go, and the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team will take on two other aspiring playoff hopefuls this weekend when it faces Rensselaer and Union College at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights will celebrate their seniors on Saturday afternoon and the program will also host numerous alumni as players of yesteryear enjoy their annual pilgrimage to Potsdam to watch the current members of the Green and Gold.

The Golden Knights come into the weekend with a record of 8-11 overall and 5-5 in the Liberty League. To be .500 in the conference at this point is common in the 2015-16 season, as four teams are currently at the 5-5 mark, sitting just two games out of first place. A good weekend can lift a team at this point, but even a middling performance won't hurt a team much either. Clarkson is looking for the former, but in the first meeting between these teams they received the latter, splitting with Union and Rensselaer in early January. The Knights are led by senior Felix Abongo, who is averaging 13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. His steady, all-around performances have put him on the brink of program history as he needs just three more assists to become the only player in program history to rank among the top 10 all-time in scoring (1227 points, 9th), rebounding (629 rebounds, 7th) and assists (259, currently 11th). Junior Derek Hart is showing that his early season games were just the beginning of a breakout year as he is averaging 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game to go along with a 56.2% shooting performance from the floor. 

In a 66-57 loss to Union in early January, Conrad Zampier, who is averaging 11.0 ppg, tossed in 17 points with six boards and three steals mixed in, but that wasn't enough against the Dutchmen (8-10 overall, 5-5 Liberty League). The two teams were in a virtual dead heat in shooting percentage, but the Dutchmen got more chances at the rim as they forced Clarkson in to 18 turnovers while committing just 12 of their own. Deshon Burgess leads the team on offense with 18.2 ppg, ranking second in the conference in that category, while William Hython is the only player in the Liberty League averaging a double-double on 15.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Wade McNamara is the team's leading outside threat with 32 3-pointers, and he averages 10.2 ppg. 

Clarkson shot 51.9% against Rensselaer (9-9 overall, 3-6 Liberty League) in the team's 69-63 victory in January, one of three times the Knights have hit at a rate above 50 percent from the floor this year. Hart had 23 points and 10 boards while Zampier produced 12 points and nine rebounds. For The Engineers, Tom Horvat had a nice game with 22 points and four steals, and the freshman has continued to produce and gain strong consideration for the conference's Rookie of the Year award. Horvat ranks 10th in the league in scoring at 14.6 ppg while also dishing out 2.9 assists per contest. He also leads the league with 2.8 steals per game. Tyler Gendron is chipping in 10.4 ppg and Chase Almond is close to a double-double at 8.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. One of the bigger oddities of the season also came in the first matchup between the two teams as they combined for only three fouls in the first half on January 3rd.
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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