VITALLO COMES THROUGH AGAIN BUT KNIGHTS DROP GAME TO OSWEGO STATE

January 7, 2006

Potsdam, NY – Senior forward Russ Vitallo (Dracut, MA) enjoyed a solid all-around effort with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks but the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team dropped a tough decision to Oswego State, 79-73, at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights fell to 3-8 overall with their 2006 home-opener, while the Lakers improved to 8-2, ending a two-game losing streak. Clarkson opens the Liberty League slate this weekend when it hosts Union and Skidmore.

The first half saw the two teams play as near polar opposites. Clarkson was hot from the outside, but struggled to score from inside the 3-point arc, shooting 6-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line and only 9-for-24 from in close. Oswego State, on the other hand, dominated in the post, shooting 14-for-27 from inside, but a mere 1-for-10 from the 3-point arc. The Knights trailed early but their hot outside shooting Clarkson a double-digit advantage at 30-18. Though the Lakers cut into the lead, the Golden Knights extended the advantage back to nine, 41-32, by the end of the first 20 minutes.

Mat Burridge led all scorers with 17 points in the first half, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor for the Lakers. The Golden Knights offense was more balanced with six different players scoring five points or more, led by Russ Vitallo’s 10 points and 9 rebounds. Ben Dudek (North Chili, NY) also added nine points.

The Lakers narrowed the lead to a single point in the opening minutes of the second half, trailing by just one point, 43-42. Clarkson regained a small advantage and was up by five with approximately nine minutes remaining, but a four-point play with an intentional foul attached put Oswego State back ahead with just over eight minutes to play. After a brief tie, the Lakers continued to get to the rim for good shots and pushed their lead to six. A handful of times the Knights pulled back and trailed by a single-possessions opportunity, but the Lakers hit their free throws in the waning moments to hold off the Clarkson charge.

Burridge closed the game with 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds for Oswego State. Ahmad Mims scored 14 points and added a game-high 12 boards while guard Nick Perioli scored 13 points.

Vitallo and Dudek each finished with 14 points to lead four scorers in double figures for Clarkson. Junior EJ Harrison (Troy, NY) scored 12 points and added six rebounds and four steals while sophomore John Chiero (Southington, CT) scored 11 points in 21 minutes. Freshman Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) scored eight points and dished out seven assists.

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