Feb 09, 2024
Schenectady, NY – Grad student Ryan Miles-Ferguson netted 28 and junior Finn Cork posted a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds, but their collective effort came up short for the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team, as the Golden Knights suffered an 83-75 loss at Union College Friday evening.
The Golden Knights saw their record fall to 12-10 overall and 6-9 in conference games, while the Garnet Chargers got a much-needed win to move to 12-9 and 7-8 in the Liberty League. Clarkson remains alive in the Liberty League playoff hunt as the team takes on Ithaca College on Saturday afternoon.
Much of the Union offense came from an unlikely source in the first half in the way of some sharpshooting from Christian Dufort. After scoring only two points in the first meeting between the two teams, Dufort had 16 points in the first half in just 11 minutes, making four 3-pointers. The two teams were close for the first handful of minutes, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Dufort allowed the Garnet Chargers gain a five-point lead (19-14). Although Clarkson would come back to tie the game several times in the first half, the Knights would not regain its early advantage. Finn Cork matched Dufort point-for-point in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 17 in the opening 20 minutes, including a layup-and-one late in the half. The Knights were down just one after a Ryan Miles-Ferguson 3-pointer (37-36), only to see Union score six straight to end the opening period.
At the start of the second half, Union picked up its first double-digit lead when Luke McGarrity hit a 3-pointer at 18:37, and the margin was pushed to 12 a few moments later. Clarkson trimmed the gap to three on a Cork layup at 13:15, only to see Union respond with seven straight. However, the Knights would get back into the game keep the deficit to single digits. Frankie Rainville made a key steal and then hit a fast break layup with a free throw added after the foul to get the Knights within two. From there, Ryan Miles-Ferguson and Christian Dufort began to duel in a similar fashion to Cork and Dufort in the first half. Miles-Ferguson began to get in the lane and hit some long-range shots, but Union's Dufort answered with his own 3-pointers at the other end.
With under five minutes to go, the Knights went cold while Union kept scoring, putting the Knights in a situation where they needed multiple makes along with stops. While Clarkson did get back-to-back makes with under two minutes to go from Cork and Matt Toscano, Clarkson was unable to make another key shot down the stretch as Union held on with free throws in the waning moments.
Ryan Miles-Ferguson scored 28 points on 11-for-23 shooting with five 3-pointer, while Cork finished with 23 points, going 11-for-17 from the field. Dufort nearly doubled his previous season-high of 15 points with 27, going 6-for-7 from the 3-point line and 8-for-11 overall. Connor Cepiel, Tanner Tedesco, and Aren Cummings each added in 10 points for Union.
The Golden Knights saw their record fall to 12-10 overall and 6-9 in conference games, while the Garnet Chargers got a much-needed win to move to 12-9 and 7-8 in the Liberty League. Clarkson remains alive in the Liberty League playoff hunt as the team takes on Ithaca College on Saturday afternoon.
Much of the Union offense came from an unlikely source in the first half in the way of some sharpshooting from Christian Dufort. After scoring only two points in the first meeting between the two teams, Dufort had 16 points in the first half in just 11 minutes, making four 3-pointers. The two teams were close for the first handful of minutes, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Dufort allowed the Garnet Chargers gain a five-point lead (19-14). Although Clarkson would come back to tie the game several times in the first half, the Knights would not regain its early advantage. Finn Cork matched Dufort point-for-point in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 17 in the opening 20 minutes, including a layup-and-one late in the half. The Knights were down just one after a Ryan Miles-Ferguson 3-pointer (37-36), only to see Union score six straight to end the opening period.
At the start of the second half, Union picked up its first double-digit lead when Luke McGarrity hit a 3-pointer at 18:37, and the margin was pushed to 12 a few moments later. Clarkson trimmed the gap to three on a Cork layup at 13:15, only to see Union respond with seven straight. However, the Knights would get back into the game keep the deficit to single digits. Frankie Rainville made a key steal and then hit a fast break layup with a free throw added after the foul to get the Knights within two. From there, Ryan Miles-Ferguson and Christian Dufort began to duel in a similar fashion to Cork and Dufort in the first half. Miles-Ferguson began to get in the lane and hit some long-range shots, but Union's Dufort answered with his own 3-pointers at the other end.
With under five minutes to go, the Knights went cold while Union kept scoring, putting the Knights in a situation where they needed multiple makes along with stops. While Clarkson did get back-to-back makes with under two minutes to go from Cork and Matt Toscano, Clarkson was unable to make another key shot down the stretch as Union held on with free throws in the waning moments.
Ryan Miles-Ferguson scored 28 points on 11-for-23 shooting with five 3-pointer, while Cork finished with 23 points, going 11-for-17 from the field. Dufort nearly doubled his previous season-high of 15 points with 27, going 6-for-7 from the 3-point line and 8-for-11 overall. Connor Cepiel, Tanner Tedesco, and Aren Cummings each added in 10 points for Union.