CU Men's Hoops Preview - vs. St. Lawrence (2/18)

With only two games left in the regular season, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team is looking to secure at least one home game for the upcoming Liberty League playoffs, and the Golden Knights will need a win on Wednesday against St. Lawrence to keep hope alive of gaining the top seed in the conference.

The Golden Knights are 18-5 overall and 11-3 in the Liberty League, the most conference wins that the program has ever achieved and the most victories in the regular season that the program has accumulated as well. St. Lawrence is fighting for its playoff life at 13-10 and 7-7, currently tied for fourth in the conference with a pair of games remaining against two of the top three teams in the conference.

Three weeks ago the Golden Knights defeated St. Lawrence 78-68 in Canton, though the game was closer in the waning moments than the score would indicate. Sophomore Conrad Zampier went 5-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc and produced a team-best 16 points in the win while Felix Abongo and John Coleman each had 15 points. St. Lawrence had five players in double figures.

Clarkson split this past weekend, allowing 70 or more points on Friday against Union, only the third time all season that the Knights defense failed to hold a team below that mark. However, the Knights still lead the conference in scoring defense (59.3 pp) and rank among the national leaders in that category. Clarkson's efficiency on offense has been key to its success along with its defense, though, leading the league in shooting (45.3%), assists (16.9 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.52 ato). Senior John Coleman pushed past 1600 career points on Friday and still leads the Liberty League in scoring at 17.3 ppg and is also the top performer in field goal percentage at 55.2%. Felix Abongo has steadied his output in the conference season and is now averaging 13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. On Friday, Dylan Hodownes had a career-high 22 points and pushed his season average to 9.0 ppg, a fine figure to go along with his 4.2 assists per game, which ranks second in the league. Charles McAllister also is chipping in 7.7 points and 3.9 assists per game.

Brady Condlin is the number one scoring option for the Saints, averaging 16.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Condlin also knows his way to the free throw line, making 101 freebies this year, the top figure in the conference. Willie Zachary, who averages 13.4 points per contest, is second with 93 free throws and his 86.9% success rate is the highest in the league. Not surprisingly, St. Lawrence leads the league in free throw shooting at 74.3%, and getting to the line is a key part of their offense since the team shoots just 32.3% from beyond the 3-point line. What the Saints lack in effectiveness from the line, they make up for in opportunities, taking nearly 500 shots from beyond the arc through 23 games.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#33 Felix Abongo: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#22 John Coleman: F; 6' 4"; Senior

#12 Dylan Hodownes: G; 5' 11"; Senior

#24 Charles McAllister: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#23 Conrad Zampier: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#33 Felix Abongo
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#22 John Coleman
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

#12 Dylan Hodownes
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

#24 Charles McAllister
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#23 Conrad Zampier
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G