KNIGHTS FALL BY SIX TO HOBART, 71-65

January 15, 2005

Matt Decker brings the ball up court against Hobart - photo by Chris Lenney

Potsdam, NY – Colby Feane and Adam Frederic combined to hit seven free throws in the final minute as Hobart was able to close out the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team with a 71-65 Liberty League victory Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights dropped to 4-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play and the Statesmen moved to 5-6 and 2-1.

The Golden Knights suffered no let down against Hobart after an emotional game against Hamilton on Friday, jumping out to a quick lead with a couple of lay ups from Matt Decker (Whitney Point, NY). The Knights held the lead for the majority of the half, holding a lead of nine points on two occasions, but Hobart closed the gap to a single point at 27-26 and went into the locker room trailing by a point, 29-26. Decker ended the half with a game-high 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

In the second half, the Statesmen quickly battled back to take a small lead and the two teams went back and forth, with neither team never enjoying more than a minute advantage. After a lay up late to put the Statesmen up by four, Clarkson struggled to cut the lead and Hobart was able to convert their free throw attempts to pick up the win.

Sophomore Mike Manning led all scorers with 22 points for Hobart, shooting 8-for-14 from the floor. Feane added 17 points and Joe Flacke added 12 points and eight rebounds for Hobart.

Decker finished as the Knights' top scorer with 15 points and added six rebounds and four steals. Russ Vitallo (Dracut, MA) had another solid game with 12 points and eight rebounds, in addition to four blocks. Vitallo's third block of the game made him the Golden Knights' all-time leader in blocks.

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