Potsdam, NY – Burying three free throws in the final 30 seconds, Keith Murray (Queens, NY) finished with a game-high 13 points to go along with nine rebounds as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team took down Cortland State, 58-54, Wednesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights improved to 6-2 overall with their third straight victory while the Red Dragons fell to 6-3. Clarkson takes to the road this weekend, facing Elmira College Saturday, before traveling to Cornell University on Monday.
The Red Dragons came into Wednesday’s game shooting better than 50 percent from the floor as a team, but Clarkson minimized Cortland’s opportunities by staying on the floor during pump fakes and denying the shots that went up with strong defense. Not surprisingly, neither team produced much offensively as Cortland’s defense was up to task as well by jumping the passing lanes and dominating on the boards (30-16). Clarkson enjoyed a 10-point lead midway through the half, but the Dragons pulled back to within three at the close of the period.
Junior Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, NJ) led Clarkson with eight points while Keith Murray had four points and six rebounds. For Cortland, Paul Oliver had seven points and five rebounds and Jesse Winter contributed seven points as well.
In the second half, Cortland took its first lead since the opening bucket, with a 3-pointer by Jeff LaMont with just under 15 minutes to go, but the Knights reclaimed the lead a minute later with a 3-pointer from Jefferson. From that point on, the Knights would hold a tenuous advantage. Though Clarkson would hold two possession leads through most of the final minutes, strong shooting from the perimeter kept Cortland within striking distance. It wasn’t until Felix Llanos (Queens, NY) and Murray made free throws down the stretch that the Dragons were finally defeated.
Llanos finished with 12 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the free throw line, while Jefferson added 11 points. Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) played strong defense all game long for Clarkson, finishing with five blocks and a steal to go along with six points and four assists.
Paul Oliver led Cortland with 12 points and Jesse Winter added 10 points before fouling out. Ben Nagle was nearly unstoppable on the boards for the Dragons, finishing with 16 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
