Troy, NY – Unable to keep pace at the start, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team dropped a 78-51 decision to Rensselaer on Friday evening, ending the Golden Knights' chances at a Liberty League postseason berth.

The Green and Gold fell to 11-13 overall and 7-10 in the Liberty League, while RPI improved to 19-5 and 13-4. Clarkson needed a win to keep pace with St. Lawrence after the Saints defeated Skidmore by eight in Saratoga Springs. Clarkson will close out the season with the Thoroughbreds of Skidmore on Saturday.

The Engineers got off to a solid start, especially from beyond the arc. Andrew Deppe hit a pair of 3-pointers around another long-range shot from Avery Eugster to quickly put RPI up by nine barely three minutes into the contest. Clarkson took the lid off about five minutes in when Jack Dalgety made a shot, but it would take another nine minutes before the Knights would get a 3-pointer when Braeden Burns hit one with 6:48 left, putting the Knights within 10 at 26-16. The two teams traded baskets as it appeared as if Clarkson's offense was finally rolling, though that would not be the case. RPI went on a 15-0 run in the next four minutes, capped by a PJ Scalisi 3-pointer with 1:21 left, giving the home team a 25-point cushion.

The Engineers' offense was uncharacteristically adept from the arc, shooting 70% (7-for-10) from deep and 57.1% overall. Clarkson, on the other hand, struggled with a 1-for-10 effort from deep, and was just 8-for-27 (29.6%) in the first 20 minutes.

A small run of points allowed Clarkson to trim the gap below 20 about six minutes into the second half. Following a Finn Cork jumper at 11:30, the margin was again 19, but that was as close as the Golden Knights would get. Another double-digit run (10-0) put RPI up by more than 30 and the Engineers cruised from there.

Finn Cork finished with 15 points, going 5-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free throw line, to go along with six rebounds. Braeden Burns was the only other Clarkson player in double figures, tossing in 13.

RPI had four players finish in double figures, led by Avery Eugster's 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Andrew Deppe chipped in 12 points, Yechiel Stewart matched Deppe with 12 points, and Pat White added 10 points.