Troy, NY - In contrast to Friday night's game, it was the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team that came from behind to claim victory, rallying from a double-digit deficit late in the second half and forcing double overtime before finally emerging with an 80-79 victory over Rensselaer Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Knights matched last season's win total with their 11th victory of the season, moving to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the Liberty League, Rensselaer fell to 9-7 and 3-2, splitting their weekend series against the North Country foes.
The first half was played very evenly between the two rivals with RPI jumping out to an eight-point advantage late before settling in at a four-point lead at the half. In the second half, Rensselaer continued to hold the edge, pushing its advantage to as many as 12 points with just over five minutes remaining. Starting with a lay up from junior Brandon Linton (Queens, NY), the Golden Knights went on a torrid pace to jump back into the game, thanks to nine straight points from Linton that included the guard forcing three turnovers. Trailing by six points with less than two minutes to go, the Knights buried a pair of 3-pointers and Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) hit a lay up with less than 30 seconds to go to tie the score up at 64-64, where the scoring would end at the conclusion of regulation.
In the first overtime, neither team scored much as the pace began to take its toll. Clarkson led by four points with less than two minutes remaining, but RPI converted a Clarkson turnover into points with three seconds to go to tie the score up at 70. In the second extra session, Pickering nailed a jumper with less than 30 seconds to go to tie the score at 79. However, after an RPI turnover and a Clarkson miss, the Red Hawks big man, Sam Simmons committed a foul on Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, NJ). Jefferson made the second of his two free throws to give the Knights the lead and RPI turned the ball over one more time on its final possession to secure the victory for Clarkson.
Pickering had his best game of the season, recording 26 points on 10-for-23 shooting. He also had 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Linton also produced an outstanding all-around game with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 7 asissts, 2 blocks and 3 steals, shooting a flawless 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Jefferson was next with 12 points for Clarkson, including the clutch free throw in the final seconds of the second overtime. The Knights committed just 16 turnovers in 50 minutes and also had 17 offensive rebounds.
For Rensselaer, Sam Simmons had his usual productive game, scoring 23 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 6 blocks and 4 steals. DJ Blakemore added 18 points and Mike Brion had 11 points. Tim Rupp also added 11 points, but committed nine turnovers. Rensselaer shot nearly 55 percent from the floor for the game, but had its hopes dashed with just seven offensive rebounds and 25 turnovers.
