CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. St. Lawrence (1/12)

Men's Basketball 1/11/2016 3:20:00 PM

CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. St. Lawrence (1/12)

In the last two years the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team has handled St. Lawrence University with a pair of sweeps and the Golden Knights will look to earn their sixth straight win against the Saints when the two teams face one another on Tuesday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights (5-8 overall, 2-2 Liberty League) are currently riding a five-game winning streak against St. Lawrence (6-4, 2-2), the longest such run versus the Saints since records were kept at the start of the 1929 season for the men's basketball program.

Senior Felix Abongo tied a season-high with 20 points on Friday night against Bard and leads the team with averages of 13.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game through 13 contests thus far. Abongo has saved some of the best performances of his career for tilts against St. Lawrence, as he has averaged 16 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game through six meetings against the Saints, shooting 58.9% over that stretch. In fact, Abongo's career-high of 29 points came against the Saints during his sophomore year when he shot 11-for-15 from the field in a win at Canton.

Forward Derek Hart has played well this year, averaging 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and a league-leading 2.0 blocks per game, but the junior has saved some of his best performances for conference play as he is shooting 68.6% from the floor through four league games. Classmates Conrad Zampier and Drew Zlogar are also chipping in 9.8 points and 8.1 points per game, respectively, so far.

Tuesday's game could come down to which team can step up its performance from the perimeter as the two teams rank at the bottom of the league in 3-point field goal efficiency. Clarkson is shooting 28.7% from the 3-point line and St. Lawrence is just a little better at 31.4%. The Saints do have an edge in tight games, however, as the team is collectively shooting a league-best 74.7% from the free throw line. Kyle Edwards ranks eighth in the league in scoring at 14.2 points per game and is shooting 51.2% from the floor, while Ben Crawford is shooting a ridiculous 68.3% from the field and averaging 13.2 points and 5.1 boards per game. Riley Naclerio also is scoring in double figures regularly with an average of 11.0 points per contest to go along with a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game, while Willie Zachary is chipping in 9.6 points and 3.1 assists per game.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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