POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (3-1) nearly fought all the way back from a 21-point deficit before falling 78-71 at Clarkson University (2-2) on Tuesday night. Sophomore guard Danny Delsol-Lowry (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals to lead the Bears. Junior forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) scored nine points and grabbed four boards, while junior forward Nosa Onabor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Northside Charter) and freshman forward Dante Viskovich(Massena, N.Y./Massena) contributed eight points apiece.
 
The Bears got on the board first after a layup from sophomore center Kristoff Saunders (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) 32 seconds into the contest. However, the Golden Knights answered with a 10-0 run, including five points from Liam Ellis. After a 3-pointer from Delsol-Lowry, Clarkson put together a 10-3 stretch and led 22-8 with 8:13 left in the half. A 12-6 run gave the Golden Knights their biggest lead of the opening period at 34-14 at the 4:03 mark. Potsdam's offense finally got rolling over the remainder of half, outscoring Clarkson 11-4, and finishing with a 38-25 gap at the break. A big reason for the Golden Knight's success was an 8-for-16 pace from behind the arc.
 
Onabor drained a three to open the second half and Delsol-Lowry hit a pair of free throws to close to within 38-30. The Bears momentum was short lived as Clarkson answered again with an 11-0 run for a 19-point lead. Kane, Delsol-Lowry and junior guard Dante Langley (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville) each scored three points in a 9-2 Potsdam stretch to get the Bears back with in 51-39 at 13:51, but couldn't stop the game's pattern. The Golden Knights scored 14 of the next 19 points to open up their biggest lead of the game 65-44 with 9:01 to play. The Bears managed to whittle the lead down to just 75-69 with 51 seconds left on a 25-10 run, but would get no closer. A layup from junior guard Andrew Hoag (Hoosick Falls, N.Y./Hoosick Falls) made it 77-71 with six seconds left. Clarkson tacked on a final free throw to close out the 78-71 victory.
 
Ellis paced Clarkson with game-highs in points (19), assists (7) and steals (4). Matthew Hornak and Joe Lucas each scored 12 points and Matt Higgins finished with 10 points and six boards.
 
The Bears shot just over 44-percent from the floor, but the Golden Knights buried 50-percent of their shots and 50-percent of their 3-point attempts (13-of-26). Clarkson edged Potsdam 35-31 in rebounds.
 
The Bears look to bounce back when they open SUNYAC play on Friday night at home against Buffalo State at 7:30 p.m.