Saratoga Springs, N.Y.— Clarkson University caught fire in the second half to come from behind for a 74-68 Liberty League men's basketball win over Skidmore College, Friday night at the Sports and Recreation Center.

It was the first league loss of the season for the Thoroughbreds who are 10-5 overall and 3-1 in Liberty play.  The Golden Knights are 9-5 and 3-1.

Skidmore opened the game with a 9-0 run, building 37-23 halftime lead. Clarkson missed its first nine field goal attempts before Jonathan Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Panas) scored on a lay-up at the 15:23 mark.  

After shooting 24.3 percent from the floor (9-37) and 10 percent (1-10) from three-point range in the first half, the Golden Knights hit 16 of 25 shots in the second (64 percent), including 6-10 from beyond the arc.

Clarkson opened the second with a 16-5 run to cut the Skidmore lead to three, 42-39 with 14:23 to play.   The Golden Knights took their first lead of the game, 46-44 on a 3-pointer and bonus free throw by Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, N.J./Morristown Beard) with 12:04 to play.   

John Mantas (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) got the lead back for the Thoroughbreds, 50-48, with a basket at 10:20.  Jefferson answered right back with another three to put Clarkson on top for good, 51-50, with 10:17 to play.

Terron Victoria (Albany, N.Y./Bishop Maginn) led Skidmore with 16 points and five steals.  Jeff Altimar (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) added 12 points.

Keith Murray (Queens, N.Y.) led four Clarkson players in double figures with 13 points, all in the second half.  Hood finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks. Brandon Linton (Queens, N.Y.) scored 12 points and had six assists, while George Koduah (Accra Ghgana) contributed 10 points off the bench.

Skidmore will host St. Lawrence on Saturday at 4 p.m., while Clarkson travels to Union for a 4 p.m. game.

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Newspaper Box Score

Clarkson vs Skidmore College

1/22/10 8 pm at Sports&Rec Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

At Sports&Rec Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

CLARKSON 74, SKIDMORE COLLEGE 68

CLARKSON (9-5, 3-1)

Keith Murray 5-11 2-2 13; Jonathan Hood 4-10 4-4 12; Brandon Linton 3-11 6-8

12; George Koduah 4-7 2-2 10; Rey Jefferson 3-7 1-1 9; Tyler Barron 3-5 0-0

9; Felix Llanos 2-7 2-2 7; David Cieri 1-1 0-0 2; Elson Pickering 0-3 0-0 0.

Totals 25-62 17-19 74.

SKIDMORE COLLEGE (10-5, 3-1)

Terron Victoria 8-12 0-0 16; Jeff Altimar 4-11 2-2 12; Kyle Clark 3-5 3-4 9;

Sakhile Sithole 3-10 3-4 9; John Mantas 4-5 0-0 8; Brian Lowry 1-6 5-6 7;

Gerard O'Shea 2-7 0-0 4; Jon Douglas 0-8 2-2 2; Kevin Dahill 0-1 1-2 1;

Raoul Oloa 0-0 0-0 0; Melvis Langyintuo 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-67 16-20 68.

Clarkson......................   23   51  -   74

Skidmore College..............   37   31  -   68

3-point goals--Clarkson 7-20 (Tyler Barron 3-5; Rey Jefferson 2-3; Felix

Llanos 1-4; Keith Murray 1-2; Elson Pickering 0-1; George Koduah 0-1;

Brandon Linton 0-4), Skidmore College 2-22 (Jeff Altimar 2-6; Kyle Clark

0-1; John Mantas 0-1; Brian Lowry 0-3; Gerard O'Shea 0-2; Jon Douglas 0-6;

Melvis Langyintuo 0-1; Terron Victoria 0-2). Fouled out--Clarkson-None,

Skidmore College-None. Rebounds--Clarkson 45 (Jonathan Hood 11), Skidmore

College 38 (Terron Victoria 5; Kyle Clark 5). Assists--Clarkson 12 (Brandon

Linton 6), Skidmore College 9 (Jeff Altimar 2; Sakhile Sithole 2). Total

fouls--Clarkson 13, Skidmore College 20. Technical fouls--Clarkson-None,

Skidmore College-None. A-275