POTSDAM, N.Y. – With its backs to the wall, the Skidmore College men's basketball team put forth a solid team effort in an 80-67 victory against host Clarkson, in Liberty League action at Alumni Gymnasium Friday evening.
Skidmore (11-11, 8-9 Liberty League) sits in sixth place in the league standings, needing only a victory against St. Lawrence on Saturday to clinch the final postseason spot. The Thoroughbreds can move as high as fifth after Saturday. Clarkson (11-13, 7-10 Liberty League) sits one game behind, still alive for the final postseason spot.
The Thoroughbreds received a gutsy performance from
Dakpe Yiljep, who came off the bench to tally a game-high 27 points on an efficient 8-for-11 shooting from the field. He made 5-of-6 from 3-point range and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. He led four Skidmore scorers in double figures.
Noah Meren added 18 points and five rebounds, while
Edvinas Rupkus needed only six shots to tally 15 points, adding five rebounds and three assists.
Jack Byrne added 13 points and five rebounds, also coming off the bench. The Thoroughbreds showed their might as a team on the boards, with seven players tallying four or more rebounds, out muscling the Golden Knights on the glass by a 41-26 margin.
Matt Higgins led Clarkson with 22 points and eight rebounds.
"It felt good to play well and beat a good team on the road," said head coach
Joe Burke. "Clarkson is a difficult place to play and they are really well coached. We knew tonight would be tough and we had to play well to win."
Clarkson shot 48 percent from the field in the first half, but the Thoroughbreds were able to keep pace, with neither team leading by more than five points. A layup by
Marcus Jackson gave Skidmore a five point, 20-15 lead at the 9:48 mark, but Clarkson was able to flip the margin, leading 30-25 at the 2:58 mark. A Rupkus jumper with 1:34 remaining in the half brought the Thoroughbreds closer, as they only trailed by three (32-29 at the half).
The second half belonged to the Thoroughbreds, as they held the Golden Knights to 35.7 percent shooting from the field. Clarkson began the half leading by as many as 10 points, before Yiljep put on a show for Clarkson's 'Hype Knight' crowd. He sank a pair of 3-pointers, adding a jumper and a pair of free throws to erase the Clarkson lead, tying the game at 39. He capped off his personal 12-0 run with a jumper, giving Skidmore its first lead of the half (41-39) at the 15:26 mark. Meren and Byrne joined the fun on Skidmore's next possessions, nailing treys of their own to take an eight-point lead.
Clarkson would make one last run, reducing the deficit to five (56-51) at the 9:19 mark, but Skidmore's offense came alive once again, with a 16-2 run in 3:22 to put the game away.
The Thoroughbreds scored a season-best 43 points from the bench, tallying 20 points off of 12 Clarkson turnovers.
"The mission was to come up North and get two wins, but we have to take it one game at a time," added Burke. "Skidmore and St. Lawrence have had a number of battles through the years and they will be ready. We will need to back this up with another good performance."
Tip-off for the matchup against St. Lawrence on Saturday will begin at 4 p.m.
