Potsdam, NY – A basket on the press break from Frankie Rainville proved key to the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team's win on Saturday, as the Golden Knights held on for an 81-77 win over Union College in Liberty League action at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improved to 10-4 overall and 4-3 in the Liberty League, while Union fell to 7-7 and 2-6. Clarkson continues its run of home games as the team will face RIT and Hobart next weekend at Alumni Gym.

Although Union scored the first points of the game, it was Clarkson that started off, pouring in 22 points in the first eight minutes, capped by a 3-pointer from the corner by Matt Toscano to put the Knights up 22-8. A minute later, a 3-pointer from Ryan Miles-Ferguson had the Knights up by 15, their largest lead of the game. Union rallied back to within three over the course of the next six minutes, capped off by a layup at 5:34 from Tanner Tedesco, putting the score at 29-26. Clarkson would not let the Garnet Chargers get any closer for the remainder of the half, and led by seven at the break.

In the first few minutes of the second, a layup from Miles-Ferguson returned the lead to double figures for Clarkson, and a 3-pointer at the 16:08 mark from Miles-Ferguson had Clarkson up by 11. However, the Knights went cold for a spell, missing on the interior and from the perimeter, allowing Union to take the lead thanks to a 15-3 run in just over five minutes, finished off by a layup-and-one from Jack Plesser (58-57). The two teams traded the lead over the next few minutes until Finn Cork's layup at 7:00 put the Knights up for good.

Union would always keep the game within striking distance for the rest of the way, staying within three on a few occasions. With pressure in the back court, Clarkson reversed the ball to the wing just over half court to Braeden Burns, and the freshman found Frankie Rainville in stride heading to the basket for the layup, making the score 80-75 with less than 30 seconds to go. Union would get back to within four, but that would be as close as it would get.

Finn Cork was key at both ends of the court, scoring 19 points while also grabbing 15 rebounds, including six on the offensive end and nine on defense. Ryan Miles-Ferguson scored 18 points and Braeden Burns added 14 for the Knights.

For Union, Jack Plesser shot 9-for-16 for 21 points while also adding seven boards. Tanner Tedesco also tossed in 13 for the Garnet Chargers.