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POTSDAM, N.Y. -  Senior Marques Charlton and junior John Coleman combined to shoot 80 percent from the floor in the second half to lift the Clarkson University men's basketball team to an 84-66 Liberty League win over Rensselaer on Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improve to 11-8 overall and even their conference mark at 5-5, while Rensselaer drops to 7-13 overall and 5-6 in conference games. 

RPI had 13 different players score points, led by senior Nick Keefe's 14 points. Chase Almond added nine points and Josh Dugas and Jesus Cardenas each chipped in eight points.

Clarkson struggled with Rensselaer's defense in the early going as the constant ball pressure forced the Knights into uncharacteristic miscues. But once the Knights got acclimated to the pressure in the early going, their ball distribution took over and made for some easy baskets around the perimeter and on the inside. Down by one with 12:17 remaining in the first half (17-16), the Knights scored 16 of the next 18 points to build a double-digit lead, thanks to solid shooting from the perimeter and a strong effort from Christian Collette inside.

Rensselaer started chipping away down the stretch, however, as Clarkson was held scoreless for the final four minutes of the half and went into the intermission with just a two-point lead.

The Engineers tied the game at 36-36 in the second half, but the Knights would not let them build any major momentum, fighting off Rensselaer every time it got close. Up by four points at the 13:45 mark, Clarkson went on a 9-0 run in the next two minutes to rebuild a double-digit lead, and though that margin was dropped to six points in the next four minutes, the Knights ended the game on a 23-11 run, slowly building the lead with fastbreak layups and jumpers in the paint.

After shooting just 39.0% in the first half, Clarkson went 17-for-31 (54.8%) in the second half, making one more 3-pointer in the second half than in the first on nearly half the attempts. Coleman finished with a double-double on 24 points and 14 rebounds, going 11-for-16 from the field, and Charlton added in 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Clarkson's bench played a key role as well as George Toyama had five points and five assists, Christian Collette went 4-for-4 from the floor for eight points and five rebounds in 14 minutes, and Michael Hayduk scored 11 points in 17 minutes. Overall, Clarkson had 27 assists on 33 baskets.