Potsdam, NY – Weathering an early flurry of 3-pointers from the visitors, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team took its time cutting the lead by the end of the half and then pulled away with some big shots from Braeden Burns as the Golden Knights claimed an 83-77 victory over RIT in Liberty League action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights edged back over .500 for the season at 11-10 overall and evened their conference mark at 7-7 with the win, while RIT dropped to 7-13 and 3-10. Clarkson has its final two regular-season home contests of the year next weekend when it hosts Union College and Ithaca College.

Things did not look especially sunny for the Knights in the early going as RIT made 3-pointer after 3-pointer near the midway point of the half, going on a 23-5 run in less than six minutes of play. The Tigers were 7-for-9 from beyond the arc in that stretch, allowing them to take a 16-point lead (29-13). Clarkson rallied with a strong run of its own thanks to eight straight points from Braeden Burns, getting the Knights close (35-32). Although the margin would expand back to 10 for the Tigers, Clarkson scored the final six points of the half to put the gap at four at the break.

RIT finished the half shooting 9-for-19 from the floor, starting at 7-for-9 from deep and going 2-for-10 over the final 11-plus minutes.

Clarkson took its first lead since early in the game thanks to a pair of free throws from Finn Cork at the 17:24 mark, and the two teams traded the lead back and forth over the next few minutes. A Zac Ditzel 3-pointer from the corner gave RIT a six-point advantage with 8:11 remaining, but Clarkson's Jeff Dewar responded with one immediately at the other end. That sparked a rally for the Knights where they claimed the lead and would not relinquish it, going on a 14-0 run in just over three minutes. The Tigers would crawl back to within one after a Matt Caggiano lefty layup-and-one made it 78-77, but the Knights hit five free throws in the final 30-plus seconds to win the contest.

Burns tied his season-high with 29 points, but did a lot of his damage from the free throw line, going 10-for-10 as well as 8-for-15 from the floor. Finn Cork notched his second straight double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Jeff Dewar came off the bench with 11 points, making three 3-pointers.

For RIT, four finished in double figures. Zac Ditzel had 16, shooting 6-for-8 from the floor, and Matt Caggiano tied that mark while also adding in seven assists. Josiah Turner had a double-double on 15 points and 10 rebounds and Brock Bowen scored 12.