POTSDAM, NY (January 9, 2016)  - Three players finished in double figures for Clarkson University as the Golden Knights claimed a 58-50 win over the Vassar College men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium. The Golden Knights improved to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in the Liberty League, while Vassar dropped to 0-2 in conference games and 4-7 overall on the season.

Clarkson led early on in the first half, but never by much more than two possessions, and the Brewers briefly edged out in front at 22-21 with 2:56 to go in the half. However, the narrow one-point lead would last only 19 seconds as the Golden Knights ended the first half with a 6-0 run to take a five-point lead into the locker room.

It didn't take long for the Knights to push that advantage to double figures in the second half, but neither team could get much going from the perimeter so the edge would sit in the upper single-digits for the first 10 minutes of the half. Vassar's Tony Caletti (Mill Valley, CA/Branson) buried a 3-pointer at the 10:49 mark in the second half to pull the Brewers back to within five, but a six-minute scoreless drought by the visitors allowed Clarkson to slowly build the lead back to double digits.

After a layup from Malaquias Canery with under two minutes to go put Clarkson up by 11 (53-42), the Knights simply had to make their free throws down the stretch to pick up the win, and the 5-for-8 effort was enough as Vassar continued to struggle from the outside.

Overall, Vassar shot 7-for-34 from beyond the 3-point arc, including a 4-for-25 start. Clarkson wasn't any better at 3-for-17, but the Golden Knights shot 55.6% from the field in the second half (10-for-18) and were 81.8% from the field on shots from inside the arc in the final 20 minutes.

For the Brewers, Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) overcame a slow start to finish with 16 points and Alex Self (Arlington, VA/Washington-Lee) chipped in 11 points. Sophomore Jesse Browne (Barrington, RI/Deerfield Academy) also was solid with seven points, nine boards, and three assists. 

Felix Abongo scored 12 points and also grabbed six rebounds to lead the Knights, while Conrad Zampier produced 11 points and five rebounds. Derek Hart, who saw his minutes limited due to foul trouble in the first half, scored 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting.

Vassar is back in action Tuesday evening, hosting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Athletics and Fitness Center at 8 p.m. in Liberty League play.