Box Score

TROY, NY -- Reggie Colas and Jesus Cardenas each scored 10 points to lead Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to a 71-69 win over Clarkson in Liberty League men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Engineers improve to 6-8 overall, with a 4-1 mark in league play, while the Golden Knights drop to 7-6, and 1-3 in the conference.

Rensselaer controlled the start of the game, building up a nine-point lead, 17-8, on a Colas layup at 11:25. Clarkson's Christian Collette cut the Engineer advantage to seven with the next basket, but Colas made two free throws at 10:53 to push the RPI lead back to nine, 19-10. The Golden Knights would chip away at their deficit, pulling to within three on a three-pointer and layup by Felix Abongo, before pulling it to 22-21 on a layup by Marques Charlton at 8:31.

Clarkson's John Coleman would tie the game at 25-25 with just over five minutes to play, and a layup by the junior forward gave the Golden Knights their first lead at 4:18. Clarkson would embark on a 14-2 run over the next three minutes, getting back-to-back treys from Dylan Hodownes and Charlton to push the Clarkson lead to 39-27 with 1:33 to play. Josh Dugas ended the run for the Engineers with a long-range shot of his own, and Sean Dempsey finished with a 3-pointer to pull RPI back within six, 39-33, with 1:10 on the clock. However, Charlton would add two more points just before the buzzer to set the halftime score at 41-33. 

Chase Almond scored the first basket of the second half for Rensselaer, but Charles McAllister responded immediately for Clarkson. Coleman hit a jumper at 18:49 to push the Golden Knight lead back to double digits. A layup by Cardenas kicked off an 11-2 run by the Engineers, which included a 3-pointer by the sophomore guard, and ended with him at the free throw line, where he completed an and-one play that pulled RPI to within one, 47-46, with 15:25 on the clock.

Colas knocked down a jumper at 12:15 to set the second tie of the game at 52-52, and Almond dropped in a basket at 11:38 to put the home team back on top. Felix Abongo converted a layup to knot the game up for a third time, but a jumper by Cardenas at 9:43 give the Engineers the lead that they would not relinquish. Abongo hit one-of-two free throws with 7:14 left to play to pull Clarkson back to within one, 59-58, and that would be as close as they would get for the remainder of the game, despite ending the contest with the last four points to set the final score.

Colas and Cardenas were the only two Engineers to reach double-digit scoring totals, with ten other players contributing points. Jarrett Boeglin and Brian Hatcher finished with a team-high six rebounds apiece. Rensselaer shot 35.4 percent (28-of-79) from the floor for the game. 

Abongo and Coleman each finished with double-doubles for the Golden Knights. Abongo recorded 14 points and 14 boards, while Coleman totaled 14 points and 11 caroms. Charlton led all scorers with 21 points, while also adding eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals. As a team, Clarkson shot for a 38.2-percent (29-of-76) clip.

Rensselaer will return to action on Friday, visiting RIT in Liberty League action at 8 p.m.