Saratoga Springs, NY – Senior Blake Gearhart scored a career-high 32 points, including 18 in the second half, to reach the 1000-point mark for his collegiate career as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team saw its 2022-23 season end with a 79-70 loss to Skidmore College on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights finished the season at 9-16 overall and 6-12 in conference games. Skidmore moved to 13-12 and 11-7 and will be the fifth seed in the Liberty League Tournament.

After an 18-point night against Union, Gearhart was left exactly 32 points from 1000 for his career, and he came out shooting in an effort to get to the four-figure mark. He scored 14 points in the first half on 5-for-12 shooting, but some struggles from beyond the 3-point arc (1-for-6) kept him from achieving more. He would continue to have trouble from deep in the second half, but hit enough free throws down the stretch to become the 23rd member of Clarkson's 1000-point club, accomplishing the feat in 84 career games.    

Clarkson started the game hot, scoring 17 points in the first six minutes, but a run from Skidmore helped the Thoroughbreds build an eight-point lead with five minutes remaining in the first half when Harrison Eichelberger nailed a 3-pointer. Clarkson rallied back to take a one-point lead on a Ryan Miles-Ferguson shot from deep with just over a minute to go, but two free throws from Riley Greene in the waning seconds put the Thoroughbreds back on top.

The Knights regained the lead on the first basket of the second half only to see Skidmore quickly regain it on a 3-pointer from Mark Engel. Skidmore would never trail again, eventually building its lead to double figures with a few minutes remaining in the contest. At that point, it appeared as if Gearhart would come up short of his individual goal, but a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left put him back within striking distance, and five free throws in the last 20 seconds put him at 1000.

Gearhart shot 10-for-25 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the line for his 32 points, while Miles-Ferguson (13) and Fravel (11) also reached double figures. For Skidmore, Tautvydas Kupstas had 26 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the field and a 9-for-10 effort at the line. Greg Skoric had a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds, Riley Greene notched 13 points and nine assists, and Mark Engel chipped in 13 points for the Thoroughbreds.