The City College of New York men's basketball team (2-7 Overall, 0-2 CUNYAC) dropped its seventh consecutive contest, falling to the Knights of Clarkson University (6-2 Overall) by a score of 68-60 in overtime on Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference affair played at the Beavers' Nat Holman Gymnasium in Upper Manhattan.
CCNY held a 53-49 lead with 5:31 remaining in the game, but Clarkson University would put together a 6-0 run over the ensuing 4:03 to take a 55-53 lead with 1:28 left. 16 seconds later, however, the Beavers would tie the game on a layup by Brendan Barile, knotting the score at 55-all. Neither team would score in the final 1:12, sending the game to overtime.
When the contest moved into the extra session, Clarkson University would connect on four of its six shots – including three from downtown – as the Knights would eventually catapult to an eight point victory.
Clarkson University was able to win the game for three primary reasons – its conversions from three-point territory, its near flawlessness from the charity stripe, and its ability to take care of the ball and limit turnovers. The Knights nailed 12 treys, connected on 12 of its 13 attempts from the free throw line, and committed just 19 turnovers on the afternoon. On the flip side, the Beavers connected on seven three-pointers, only made seven trips to the line for the entire afternoon (converting on five of them), and committed 25 miscues.
Leading the way for the Knights in the win was Rey Jefferson as he netted a game-high 24 points while connecting on six treys, grabbing six rebounds, tallying five steals, and dishing three assists. Felix Llanos chipped in as well with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists while connecting on all six of his attempts from the line, and Jonathan Hood just missed recording a double-double as he dropped in 10 points while snatching nine rebounds.
Despite the loss for CCNY, center Matas Rascius tallied a double-double as he scored 15 points on six-of-13 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds (including seven on the offensive glass) and three blocked shots. Kenny Rubenstein had 11 points while dishing three assists, grabbing three rebounds, and tallying three steals, and Barile played well coming off of the bench, adding 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Until the overtime, neither team led by any more than five points. CCNY's biggest lead was a four-point edge with just over 5:30 to play, while Clarkson at one point had a five point lead early in the second half. The game was tightly-contested throughout, with the Knights finally pulling away in the overtime session.
The Beavers return to action tomorrow afternoon as CCNY will battle William Paterson University in another non-conference matinee game, with start-time scheduled for 1:00pm.