The St. Lawrence men's basketball team defeated the Golden Knights of Clarkson 65-59 on Wednesday night in Canton, N.Y. to improve to 6-1.

The Saints jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half, leading by as many as 12 midway through, but Clarkson brought it back to within four with two minutes to play. A 3-pointer from Gavin Macaulay right before the buzzer gave the Saints a 30-23 lead at the midway break.

Ryan Miles-Ferguson, who has been Clarkson's top scorer and rebounder this season, got in foul trouble early in the second half. Still, the Golden Knights stayed persistent and tied the game at 39 seven minutes into the half. Trey Syroka got to the line and sank both free throws to retake the lead, but Clarkson came down and Blake Gearhart made a 4-point play to give them their first lead of the game at 42-41.

The teams exchanged blows for the next few minutes, and a 5-point Saints run gave them the lead 58-51. Clarkson rallied back with an 8-3 run, and with just under two minutes to play trailed by just two.

Will Engelhardt hit a midrange jumped with 80 seconds left to make it a two possession game, and secured the 65-59 win by hitting a pair of free throws a minute later.


"Route 11 games are always physical and tough," said head coach Chris Downs, "tonight was no different. We are happy to head into the semester break on a good note."

Trent Adamson was the top Saints scorer with 18. Syroka finished with 14, and Englehardt had ten. Macaulay tied his career high with 10, and was a perfect 2-2 from deep and the free throw line.

Gearhart was Clarkson's high scorer with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes, and Teddy Fravel had 17 points.

Clarkson had a cold shooting night from deep, hitting just five of 25 from beyond the arc. 36 of their points came from the paint. The Saints went six for 12 from deep. Clarkson had a 41-31 advantage on the boards.

Records: St. Lawrence (6-1, 2-1), Clarkson (0-7, 0-2)
Up next: Elmira College on January 2 at 3 p.m. in Burkman Gymnasium