POTSDAM, N.Y. - Senior John Coleman tossed in 20 and the Clarkson University men's basketball team's bench produced 33 points, including 22 in the first half, as the Golden Knights defeated Rensselaer 69-54 in Liberty League action Friday night. The Golden Knights improves to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the Liberty League, while Rensselaer drops to 4-11 overall and 1-5 in conference games. 

Right off the opening tip, Dylan Hodownes buried a 3-pointer and Clarkson never trailed or even saw the score tied again in the contest. The Knights, up by three points (12-9) at the 13:40 mark went on an 11-0 run that was capped off by a Drew Zlogar 3-pointer from the top of the key. A few minutes later near the end of the half RPI had pulled back to within eight points, but on three possessions the Knights saw their lead jump back into double figures thanks to 3-pointers from Mike Hayduk and Conrad Zampier, who hit a pair of long distance shots. Clarkson scored 21 of its 37 first-half points on 3-pointers and most of them came from players that came off the bench, as the Knights' reserves scored 22 points in the first half. 

That pace would slow in the second period, and a strong start to the second half by the Engineers brought the margin back to within single digits. Down by just 11 midway through the second half, though, the Engineers couldn't keep up the pace as Clarkson scored seven quick points on a Charles McAllister 3-pointer and two quick buckets from Coleman. At that point the advantage was signficiant enough for the Knights to cruise to a double-digit victory.

Coleman finished with 20 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the field, and he added in three steals. Conrad Zampier scored 11 points off the bench, missing only one shot in five attempts while Drew Zlogar and Derek Hart added in nine points and eight points, respectively. Charles McAllister also dished out seven assists in addition to his three thefts. For RPI, Chase Almond scored 14 points and recorded eight rebounds and Josh Dugas added in 14 points, going 5-for-9 from the floor. 

Clarkson will host Union College on Saturday (4pm), while RPI will travel down the road to face St. Lawrence (4pm).