CU Men's Basketball Preview - at Sig Makofski Classic (11/28-29)

For most teams, the Thanksgiving holiday was supposed to provide a quick break after a month of practices and a handful of games. For the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team it was but a brief reprieve as the Golden Knights played on Tuesday and will be back in action for a tournament this weekend at Union College, the Sig Makofski Classic.

The Golden Knights will play Wesleyan University (CT) at 5:00 pm on Saturday and then Westfield State at 2:00 pm on Sunday as the tournament is a "classic" format with a pre-determined schedule. Clarkson has already played five games in its first 12 games of the season and starting on Saturday will play four more in the course of seven days.

After a slow start, Felix Abongo has found a bit of a groove and enjoyed an impressive all-around game against Oswego State on Tuesday, scoring 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting to go along with five assists. That game pushed his averages to 13.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game and the senior is now ranked in the top 17 all-time in scoring (1030 points, 17th), rebounding (536, 12th) and assists (228, 16th) at Clarkson. Junior forward Derek Hart has been a steadying influence on the interior for Clarkson so far, averaging 13.4 points per contest with five straight games in double figures. Shooting 56.9% from the floor, Hart also contributes averages of 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Junior Drew Zlogar also has produced 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game through five contests.

Wesleyan is off to a 2-1 start through three games, including a narrow win against Bard College (80-74) in the team's last outing. BJ Davis scored 31 in that game and is averaging 23.3 points per contest. Davis hasn't missed much so far, shooting 57.6% from the floor, 56.3% from beyond the 3-point arc, and 88.5% from the free throw line. The Cardinals also have three others averaging in double figures so far. Harry Rafferty is scoring 12.7 points per contest while Joseph Kuo (11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Rashid Epps (10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds) are also off to solid starts.

Westfield State has played just as many games as Clarkson thus far and is one win up on the Knighs with a record of 2-3. The Owls have bee led by Jesus Sanchez, who is averaging 12.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, but Shane Pasquantonio is barely trailing with 12.0 points per game, while also kicking in 10.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. Peter Mafo missed the first two games of the season for Westfield State, but has tossed in 10.3 points per game over the last 10 days. Jose Allen is the team's top shooter from the perimeter making nine of his 22 3-point field goal attempts this year to average 8.6 points per contest.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#42 Derek Hart: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#21 Drew Zlogar: F; 6' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#42 Derek Hart
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#21 Drew Zlogar
: 6' 6"; Junior
: F

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo

#42 Derek Hart

#21 Drew Zlogar

Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo

#42 Derek Hart

#21 Drew Zlogar