TROY, N.Y. - Junior guard Chuck Clemons scored 11 points down the stretch and tied for game-high honors with 16 points, graduate student guard Dom Black also scored 16 points, and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team battled back to defeat SUNY Polytechnic 52-49 in a non-league game at East Campus Arena. The No. 18 Engineers improve to 8-1, while the Wildcats drop to 6-5.

Trailing 42-40 with just over five minutes to play in the second half, Clemons scored 11 of the team's final 12 points, including a layup that tied the game at 42-42. He followed with a three pointer with just over three minutes remaining that gave the Engineers a 46-44 advantage and then increased the lead to 48-44 with a layup after securing a defensive rebound. 

Mitch Kernizan pulled SUNY Poly within two points, 48-46, with a basket in the paint with 1:34 to play but the visitors could not tie the score despite two chances under the basket on their next possession. Clemons was fouled with 19 seconds to go and made both free throws for a 50-46 lead and then did the same with under 10 seconds left for a 52-46 advantage. A three pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer by Cheickne Toure finished the scoring.

Coming out of halftime with a 21-17 lead, the Wildcats scored the first five points for a nine point edge, 26-17, a minute into the second half. The Engineers answered with a 12-0 run for a 29-26 lead at the 15 minute mark and they continued to hold SUNY Poly scoreless until 12:25 remained. The teams traded baskets from that point on and neither squad held a lead of more than four points until Clemons made the late free throws.

In addition to Clemons, who added five rebounds, and Black, who had eight boards and four steals, Avery Eugster also reached double figures in points. The junior forward had 12 with a team-high nine rebounds, a steal, and two blocked shots. As a team, the Engineers forced 21 turnovers and held the Wildcats to 37.5 percent (21 of 56) shooting, including 21.1 percent (4 of 19) from behind the arc.

Kernizan, a senior guard, tied for game-high honors with 16 points, along with four rebounds and an assist, and Toure scored 14 points. Jesse O'Dell scored eight points with a game-high 10 rebounds for SUNY Poly, who had a rebounding margin of 38-30.