VITALLO SCORES SEASON-HIGH 19, BUT CLARKSON FALLS TO UTICA

January 3, 2006

Utica, NY - Senior Russ Vitallo (Dracut, MA) shot 6-for-9 from the floor for a season-high 19 points as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team was out-gunned by Utica 78-52 on Tuesday evening.

The Pioneers improved to 7-1 on the season while Clarkson dropped to 3-7. The Golden Knights open up the home portion of the 2006 schedule on Saturday when they host Oswego State at 7 pm.

A tightly contest game in the first half, Clarkson trailed by just two at the break as Vitallo hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the opening 20 minutes. The Pioneers doubled up the Knights in the second half with 48 points to Clarkson's 24. Utica took nearly twice as many shots as Clarkson in the second half (35-18), causing the lead to steadily grow in the second half. The Pioneers also shot 7-for-12 from beyond the 3-point arc in the final 20 minutes.

Freshman Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) was the only other Clarkson player to score in double figures as he recorded 12 points. Junior EJ Harrision (Troy, NY) added seven points and six rebounds, the first game this season in which he has not scored at least 10 points in a contest.

Four players scored in double-digits for Utica, led by Ray Bryant, who scored 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting. Doug Herring and Justin Cichon each added 13 points for Utica.

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