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TROY, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team outscored Clarkson University 41-16 in the second half, led by sophomore Tom Horvat's 15 points, and the Engineers came back from a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Golden Knights, 62-54, in a Liberty League game at East Campus Arena. RPI, which got a team-high 20 points from Horvat, improves to 8-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference, while Clarkson falls to 5-6 and 0-2.

Facing a 19-point deficit (40-21) after CU's Derek Hart (Poughkeepsie, NY / FDR) scored just 1:08 into the second half - giving the senior 20 points to that point - RPI started chipping away, beginning with a layup from sophomore Marcus Giese (Franklin, MA / Franklin) and two free throws from Horvat. Hart made another basket and was fouled to put the visitors ahead by 16 points, 43-27, but those would be the final points of the contest for the center, who shot 9 of 14 in the first half and 11 of 22 overall. 

The Engineers went on a 9-0 run to pull within seven points, 43-36, with 12:36 to play and then answered a Drew Zlogar (Clifton Park, NY / Shenendehowa) basket with seven more points to get within two, 45-43 with 9:48 to go. Rensselaer continued to trail for the next 3:23 when senior Nate Kane (Glenmont, NY / Bethlehem) gave RPI its first lead of the game (48-47) - Clarkson took a 7-0 lead to start the contest - with a jumper. The Engineers did not trail from that point and went on to the eight-point victory.

Rensselaer held the Golden Knights to just 14.8% shooting (4 of 27) and forced nine turnovers with eight steals in the second half.

Horvat had six rebounds, three assists and two steals to go with his 20 points. Kane finished with 10 points, while Giese had seven points, six rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals. Jonathan Luster (Essex, CT / Valley Regional) contributed eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. 

Hart, the second leading scorer in the Liberty League, was three points above his average to lead all scorers. He also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds with two assists, a steal and a pair of blocked shots. Senior Mike Hayduk (Clinton, NY / Clinton) finished with 12 points - all in the first half when Clarkson made 53.1% (17 of 32) of its shots. 

Rensselaer travels to Skidmore College for a league game on Saturday, while Clarkson visits Union College in a conference matchup. Both games begin at 4pm.