Potsdam, NY – Sophomore guard Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) went 8-for-12 from the free throw line, with many coming in the final minutes, for a career-high 16 points as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team avenged an early-season loss to Potsdam State, 54-50, on Saturday evening at Maxcy Hall.

The Golden Knights improved to 2-5 on the season with the victory, ending a five-game losing streak, while Potsdam fell to 4-4. Clarkson returns to action in January when it hosts Cortland State.

Thanks to a strong-shooting performance and an overwhelming advantage on the boards, Clarkson went into the locker room with a 31-23 lead. Both teams started off with an offensive frame of mind as the two teams combined for 27 point sin the first five minutes. Trailing by one with 14:32 remaining, the Golden Knights went on a 10-3 run over the next three minutes to take a six-point lead. That edge would never dwindle below three points and another 8-0 run pushed it to double figures, finishing at eight points at the end of 20 minutes.

Linton had a solid half with 9 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds, while Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) contributed seven points and three blocks. Alvin Dike scored seven and Tim Reinhardt added six to lead the Bears.

Clarkson shot 11-for-21 in the first half, including 5-for-11 from beyond the 3-point arc. The team also controlled the boards by a wide margin, 17-6. The only thing that kept the first half from being totally owned by the Knights was the defensive pressure of the Bears, which forced Clarkson into 14 turnovers.

In the second half, the Bears continued that pressure and started to see some of their shots fall as the team came roaring back to take a one-point lead at 13:19 following a three-point play from Devin Taft. The two teams battled back and forth and it appeared as if the Knights would have the game in hand with a five-point advantage with just 44 seconds remaining after a pair of free throws from Elson Pickering. However, Taft would come through again with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two with just 34 seconds left. The game was still up in the air for the final 30 seconds as neither team was able to shoot well enough from the free-throw line to eliminate the lead or put the game out of reach.

The dominance of the first half reversed in the second half as Clarkson was outrebounded 20-11 while still committing 12 turnovers, holding the team to just 13 field goal attempts. Fortunately, the Knights made 12 of their 18 free throw attempts, while the Bears shot only 6-for-15 from the line in the second half, making up the difference.

Linton was the game-high scorer with 16 points, also contributed five assists and four rebounds. Pickering finished with 13 points, but a season-low three rebounds. He made up for it on the defensive end with a career-high six blocks. Reinhardt was the only player to finish in double figures for Potsdam with 13 points.