Last Second Shot Falls Short as SLU Beats Knights, 67-65

Freshman Felix Abongo finishes off a lay up for the Knights. - Photo by Gary Mikel

Potsdam, NY – A last second 3-point shot from Marques Charlton (Deer Park, NY) was well contested, and off the mark, as St. Lawrence held on for a 67-65 Liberty League win over the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team Tuesday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights fell to 10-4 overall and 2-3 in the Liberty League, ending their modest two-game winning streak in conference games. St. Lawrence improved to 5-8 overall, but 3-1 in the Liberty League. Clarkson will finish out its five-game homestand this weekend when it hosts RIT and Hobart College.

St. Lawrence and Clarkson started off trading points in the early going with neither enjoying more than a three-point advantage in the first nine minutes. Following a lay in by Christian Collette (Yalesville, CT), Clarkson enjoyed an 11-2 run over the course of six minutes that was capped off by a Charles McAllister (Olathe, KS) layup, giving the Knights a 24-16 advantage. Clarkson held that lead until there was three minutes remaining in the half, but the Knights went scoreless over the final ticks and finished with a five-point lead at the half.

John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor. Janpeter Brase matched Coleman’s performance for the Saints, but had nine points with one fewer free throw.

In the second half, St. Lawrence started going to the rim even more than it did in the first half, allowing some space for its 3-point shooters to get open shots off. The Saints made those shots at a solid clip and went 4-for-9. Conversely, the Knights struggled, making only one of their first 13 long attempts before finally getting some clutch shots down the stretch. Trailing by as many as five points in the second half, the Knights came back and reclaimed a two-point advantage after a 3-pointer from Charlton in the corner (56-54). Brady Condlin and Payton Stahler made shots in the paint to give the Saints a three-point lead, but on two occasions Felix Abongo (Beacon, NY) made shots to get the Knights back to within one. With 5.1 seconds left in the game and a one-point lead, St. Lawrence freshman Leondre Simmon went to the line and made his first free throw. The second shot hit the front of the rim and bounded out to Charlton near the 3-point line, and the junior raced down the court to take a shot for the tie and/or win. Charlton pulled up just outside the arc, but had to take an off-balance shot that missed to the right of the rim and fell harmlessly before Clarkson could get another attempt for a tying field goal attempt.

John Coleman finished with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting for the Knights, adding eight rebounds and three steals. Charlton ended with 13 points and five rebounds and Felix Abongo chipped in 12 points, going 5-for-7 from the floor, with five rebounds. Overall, Clarkson shot just 3-for-19 from beyond the 3-point arc.

For St. Lawrence, Condlin closed with a game-high 20 points, but took 20 shots to get there. Janpeter Brase was more efficient with 17 points, going 8-for-10 from the floor. Payton Stahler, too, was solid with 12 points, shooting 5-for-7 from the field.

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