Potsdam, NY – A last second corner 3-pointer from Braeden Burns came up short as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team was denied a comeback by Union College, 71-70, in Liberty League action Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights saw their conference record dip back below .500 at 7-8 while moving to 11-11 overall and Union improved to 13-9 and 9-6. Clarkson takes on Ithaca College on Saturday.

Clarkson got off to a solid start in the first few minutes, jumping up by four points on a dunk in the lane by Braeden Burns at the 15:38 mark to make it 10-6, but Union responded with nine points in less than two minutes to gain the lead. That advantage expanded to 11 after Matthew Garside hit a 3-pointer (27-16), only to see the Knights slowly get back into the game, trimming the gap to two (32-30) off a Finn Cork layup with 2:48 to go. It was Cork again in the final seconds of the half to put the Knights down three, but Garside provided more heroics with a 3-point buzzer beater banked in, putting the tally at 40-34 at the break.

Early on in the second half, Clarkson pulled to within one on four separate occasions but was never able to get the stop at the other end to take the lead. Union led by eight around the midway point of the half and always maintained a two-possession advantage until the final minute. Union was up by seven with 40 seconds to go and Steve DeRegis had a make to reduce it to give. After a pair of free throw misses by the Garnet Chargers, Finn Cork converted in the lane and was fouled. Both teams called timeouts to regroup and Cork missed the free throw, but Burns ended up with the offensive rebound. After two more dueling timeouts, Clarkson had one last opportunity, but Burns' 3-pointer from the far corner was short. Cork got the rebound and put the ball in as time expired, as the clock would not allow for any further potential heroics.

The starters for both teams did the majority of the damage, as the Knights got 68 of their 70 points from the starting five and Union watched its first five score 65 of 71 points. Union went 18-for-21 from the free throw line while the Knights were 7-for-18.

Braeden Burns led both teams with 25 points, shooting 10-for-18 from the floor, to go along with 10 rebounds. Finn Cork was 7-for-12 from the field for 18 points and added 15 boards. Steve DeRegis chipped in 15 points and Jack Dalgety contributed 10 points.

For Union, Tanner Tedesco produced 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Jack Plesser knocked down 16 points.