Potsdam, N.Y. - An eight point advantage at the break evaporated in the second half as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team dropped its opening Liberty League matchup with rivals St. Lawrence University, 75-63. 

Clarkson draws even at 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Liberty League while St. Lawrence improves to 2-1, 1-0 in conference. The team now has a week off from games, traveling downstate next Saturday to take on SUNY Poly at 3 p.m.

The Knights got out to an early 6-0 advantage with threes from Lorenzo Rappa and Steve DeRegis to open play. St. Lawrence eventually found their footing, chipping away at the advantage with both teams trading baskets prior to the 16-minute media timeout. A paint jumpshot by Chris Downs gave the visitors a 9-8 lead at the 15:21 mark, leading to the next four baskets scored giving each team a 1-point advantage. Up 13-12, Adam Dudzinski cashed in on a long range effort for the Saints giving them their biggest lead with 12:28 to go. 

With the game tied at 21 with seven minutes left in the 1st, Clarkson would go on an 8-0 run over the span of a minute, getting up 29-21 following another DeRegis three-point effort. Dan Anderson got the lead back to six, cashing in on two free throws with two minutes remaining but Nate Abernethy finished off a feed from Bareden Burns at the rim to give the Knights a 31-23 lead headed into halftime. 

Both teams continued the fast pace to start the second half as St. Lawrence cut the lead in half, just over two minutes in. A free throw from Downs got them within one at the 16:04 mark but that was answered by an old-fashioned three point play by Burns to push the advantage back to four. The Saints would take the lead with a rapid 6-0 run that was capped off by a Connor Parkes layup and free throw, flipping the lead in favor of SLU, 41-39. Abernethy would score the next three points of the contest on a layup and the second of two free throws to put Clarkson up one with 13:31 left, the last time that the Knights would lead in the contest. 

St. Lawrence would then go on an 8-0 run of their own over the next three minutes, leading by seven on two occasions before a deep straight-on three from DeRegis got the Knights back to 51-47. An 11-2 run up to the 5:25 mark meant the visitors would hold a 62-49 lead as missed shots and turnovers continued to plague the Knights at a vital stretch. 

Clarkson managed to get back within nine following free throws from Burns with 3:14 left before the final buzzer, but that would be the closest that the Knights could get as St. Lawrence continued to force the ball inside, getting easy looks around the basket. Down 15 with a minute remaining DeRegis would hit for another trifecta following a long rebound but another layup by Downs on the other end would relieve any remaining pressure off the backs of the Saints. Burns would hit two more shots from the charity stripe with about 30 seconds remaining accounting for the final scoring of the contest. 

Both teams led in the contest for over 18 minutes but the largest lead fell to St. Lawrence at 15. The Knights led in assists (13-10) and second chance points (13-11) while also shooting 78% (7-9) from the free throw line. St. Lawrence used a 47% (29-62) field goal shooting effort, gaining advantages in bench points (19-4) and points in the paint (42-28) while also leading the rebounding battle, 39-36. 

Abernethy and DeRegis led the Knights with 18 points apiece, as Abernethy also grabbed 8 boards in his 32 minute outing. Braeden Burns added 16 points while dishing out 4 assists to pace the team. Downs would chip in a game-high 20 points on 8-16 shooting with 7 rebounds. Dudzinski (16 points, 11 rebounds), Dan Anderson (14 points, 4 assists) and Aidan Phelan (13 points off the bench) all scored in double-figures.