Men's Basketball | 2/7/2019 11:18:00 AM

Looking to end the home portion of the schedule on a positive note, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team hosts Ithaca College and Union College this weekend at Alumni Gymnasium.

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The Series vs. Ithaca: In 80 all-time meetings, Clarkson has come away with a victory 19 times while falling 61, including a 71-58 loss in January. The Knights shot just 6-for-31 from the 3-point line in that game with 25 turnovers, but were still within striking distance in the final moments before free throws thwarted the comeback attempt.

The Series vs. Union: The Golden Knights are 28-42 all-time against the Dutchmen, but the Green and Gold have won only twice in the last eight games, though two of the last five games went to overtime. Union won the first meeting of the season 86-76 as the Dutchmen shot 50.0% from the floor (27-for-54) and the 3-point line (12-for-24).

Key Stats for Clarkson (4-16, 3-10 Liberty League): The Golden Knights have regularly scored more points in the second half in 2018-19, often using considerable energy pulling themselves out of an early hole to get back into games. That was never better illustrated than the weekend in mid-January against Union and Ithaca. Both contests saw Clarkson fall behind by double figures in the first half only to tie the game in the second half, but nevertheless fall short. Clarkson was tied with Union midway through the second half only to fall by double digits and versus Ithaca the Knights trailed by five with less than two minutes to go only to lose by 13. Strong shooting starts (Clarkson shot less than 30 percent in the first half against both Union and Ithaca) could easily put the Knights in a position where they are not playing catch up.

Key Stats for Ithaca (12-9, 8-6 Liberty League): Winners of four straight, the Bombers can clinch a playoff spot this weekend without even winning a game. The top scoring offense in the Liberty League at 81.8 points per game, the Bombers have surpassed 80 points in five straight games. Oddly enough, Ithaca's second-lowest scoring figure of the season (71 points) came in a win over Clarkson, one of only two times this year that the Bombers won by scoring fewer than 80 points. Riley Thompson leads Ithaca in scoring at 18.8 points per game while Sebastian Aldrete is producing 15.4 points per contest. Peter Ezema averages close to a double-double with 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game to go along with a league-high 2.8 steals per contest.

Key Stats for Union (8-12, 4-10 Liberty League): The Dutchmen appeared on their way to a spot in the Liberty League playoffs at the midway point of the conference slate, but Union has dropped five straight games, including three at home. The streak has come during a scoring upheaval for Union, as only once in the past five games has one of the team's top five scorers led the team in points (Mike Concannon). Jackson Mannix leads the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game, but he has been held to single digits in three straight games. Brendan Laing, second on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game, has reached double digits only once in the last seven games.