POTSDAM, N.Y. - Every game is going to be a battle. Every game is going to be close. Every game can go either way.
This is what Bard men's basketball coach Adam Turner said about the Liberty League this season, and after three games, he couldn't be more right.
After sweeping a pair of narrow road wins last weekend at Skidmore and Union, Bard held on to beat Clarkson, 54-53, on Friday night in Potsdam. It was Bard's first-ever win over Clarkson, and it's Bard's first 3-0 start in conference play since joining the league in 2011.
It was a knock-down, drag-out, mostly ugly, sometimes pretty game, defined as the previous two were, by a few key late possessions.
It certainly started ugly for Bard, which had 10 turnovers and six points as the five-minutes-left mark approached in the first half. A 12-4 run to end the half cut Clarkson's lead to 24-18 at the break, and a 9-3 spurt to start the second half tied it at 27-27 with just over 16 minutes left in the game.
After that point, the lead went back and forth seven times, and Bard led by four twice, but it all came down to the final few minutes.
Wiith about four minutes left, a twisting layup by DeVahnte Mosley (Sicklerville, NJ) tied it at 43-43, and after a traveling call on Clarkson, Mosley hit a huge three-pointer as the shot clock wound down to make it 46-43 with 3:12 left. Bard did not trail again.
The lead stayed between four and two as the final minute approached. After Clarkson senior Felix Abongo (Beacon, NY) hit a pair of free throws to cut Bard's lead to 50-48 with 1:13 left, Bard missed a three-pointer at the other end. Clarkson grabbed the rebound, brought the ball into the frontcourt and called time out. There were 32 seconds left.
Out of the time out, Clarkson worked the ball around, but it was pretty clear to everyone that the Golden Knights were trying to get the ball to Abongo in the post. He had 20 points at that point in the game and it was working.
He got the ball outside of the lane, dribbled into the teeth of a double-team in the lane, and his shot attempt was blocked by Bard senior Brandon Cunningham (Brooklyn, NY). Emmanuel Rainey (College Park, GA) grabbed the rebound and was fouled as the Clarkson benched pleaded for a foul call on Cunningham.
Bard wasn't yet in the bonus, so Rainey was fouled a couple more times before he finally went to the line with 11 seconds left and Bard up by two, shooting one-and-one. He made both, and Clarkson freshman Malaquias Canery (Lawrence, MA) went coast-to-coast for a layup to make it 52-50 with 5.6 seconds left.
The Golden Knights fouled Rainey quickly again, and he calmly sank two more with 4.8 to go - 54-50. The game was over.
Except it wasn't over. Conrad Zampier (East Greenbush, NY) hit a desperation three-pointer, and it was 54-53 with 0.9 left on the clock. Bard threw a long inbounds pass, and it was finally, actually, really over.
Abongo led the hosts with 20 points and six rebounds for Clarkson (4-8, 1-2 Liberty League).
Mosley led all scorers with 21 points for Bard (6-6, 3-0 LL). He added five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals, and shot 8-for-10 from the floor. Rainey and Harry Johnson (Smyrna, DE) each finished with nine points; Cunningham had six points, seven rebounds and three blocks, including the most important block of the game.
On Saturday, Bard will visit yet another gym where they've never won - Burkman Gymnasium on the campus of St. Lawrence University. Tip is at 4.