Box Score Potsdam, N.Y.—Clarkson University (3-0) held off a late rally from the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team, win the in the championship game of the Casella North Country invitational. Freshman forward Rob Duquette (Peru, N.Y./Peru) led the Bear attack with a game and career-high 16 points. Sophomore guard Curtis Pierce (Brooklyn, N.Y./George Westinghouse Vocational) was also strong at both ends of the court for Potsdam with 12 points and nine boards. Rey Jefferson and Felix Llanos each scored 12 for the Golden Knights.

Clarkson came out hot in the first half, scoring the first eight points of the game. The Bears responded with nine straight points highlighted by a three-pointer from senior guard Eddie Cross (Hudson, N.Y./Shaker) at the 14:15 mark to grab the lead. A 15-3 Golden Knight run gave Clarkson a 23-12 advantage with 9:35 remaining in the half, but again the Potsdam rallied. The Bears closed out the half with a 9-5 stretch and trailed just 28-23 at the half.

The second half saw a pattern of the Golden Knights grabbing several double-digit leads and the Bears clawing their way back to within a few points. A Jefferson three-pointer at 14:00 gave Clarkson a 15-point, 43-28 lead, it's biggest of the contest, but the Bears refused to go away. The teams traded baskets over the next 13 minutes. Potsdam closed to within three with 1:01 to play as Duquette hit two free throws to make it 61-58. After a Golden Knight basket from Llanos made it a two possession game with 33 seconds left, the Bears were forced to foul. Clarkson hit four straight from the charity stripe to hold on to the 67-60 victory.

Potsdam shot 40 percent from the field, while the Golden Knights made 44 percent of their shots. The Bears had a 37-29 rebounding edge, including 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass.

Despite the final score, Bears Head Coach Sherry Dobbs was encouraged by the effort.

“I thought we played better than we did last night. We really competed very hard for 40 minutes,” Dobbs said. “I was really impressed with the play of our freshman Rob Duquette. Also, Josh Lambert (Brooklyn, N.Y./East New York Transit Tech) did a nice job playing defense and rebounding for us. It was a solid team effort that we can build upon.”

The Bears (1-2) are off until Dec. 3, when they open SUNYAC play against SUNY Oneonta at 8 p.m. in Welsh Gymnasium.