Disappointed.

Shocked.

All these sentiments accurately describe the emotional turntable the Rensselaer men’s basketball team found itself on this weekend. One day after crushing Clarkson 69-49 in Robison Gym, the Red Hawks simply collapsed to a younger, less-experienced club on their home court in a crucial Liberty League match-up with St. Lawrence.

RPI, which led for 35 of the game’s 40 minutes, squandered a 16-point first half lead and a 53 percent first half shooting performance, eventually falling to the visiting Saints 73-68.

“We gave it away,” Rensselaer Head Coach Mike Griffin said immediately following the game. “It was ours and we just gave it to them.”

Griffin was so frazzled by his team’s breakdown, that he refused further questions.

Senior forward and captain Tom Schneider did speak, and his dissatisfaction with his performance and the team’s was clear.

“We didn’t execute down the stretch,” Schneider said. “We started feeling so good in the first half that we let our guard down.”

The Saints obviously sensed it.

After a Matt Zepernick jumper put Rensselaer up 16 with just 3:39 remaining in the first half, the Red Hawks backed off and allowed St. Lawrence to come roaring back.

The Saints ended the game’s first session on a determined 11-3 run, cutting the deficit in half, and completed a 19-3 run just 2:05 into the second half tying the game at 42.

“We felt they were going to make a run at us,” Griffin would say Monday, after taking some time to digest Saturday’s loss. “That spurt to end the first half was just the beginning. It wasn’t unexpected.”

The 22nd-year head coach also admitted he did not anticipate his team maintaining the 50-plus shooting percentage they displayed in the first half, but he could not have predicted the Red Hawks’ complete 180.

In the second half, St. Lawrence went to a half-court and, at times, full-court pressure defense. The move noticeably rattled RPI. The open looks at the basket Rensselaer received in the first half disappeared, and on several occasions the Red Hawks simply struggled to effectively run any sort of an offense.

RPI would shoot a dismal 26.9 percent in the second half. Schneider, who scored 14 points on 6-11 shooting in the first half, also struggled scoring just six second half points and going 2-9 from the field.

“They were more aware of where I was,” Schneider said of the Saints’ late defensive adjustments.

While Schneider struggled, St. Lawrence freshman forward Bela Vonnak excelled. The rookie scored 23 points and corralled 15 rebounds for the Saints, seven of which came on the offensive glass.

“We could not stop him,” Griffin said of Vonnak, who was named Liberty League Rookie of the Week. “They really hurt us inside.”

Despite Vonnak’s successes and the Red Hawks’ collective difficulties, Rensselaer managed to pull ahead by four in the nip-tuck affair with just 3:04 remaining.

Another of St. Lawrence’s super freshmen would strike again. Tom Wopperer nailed the biggest three of his short Saints career deep in the corner off an inbounds play, cutting the RPI lead to one. Then graduate student Jimmy White did the rest.

White cut back door for two lay-ups on consecutive possessions to steal the lead and the game from RPI. He would then drive home the dagger by stealing the ball from senior David Easily and nailing the two subsequent free throws to push the Saints’ lead to the final score, 73-68.

“We let this one slip,” Schneider said. “Hopefully it won’t come back to sting us.”

Schneider, whose 20 points and nine boards against the Saints and 19 points and eight boards against Clarkson earned the Liberty League Forward of the Week honors, was obviously thinking back to last year.

In the 2004-2005 campaign, the Red Hawks were swept by the Saints, losing a heartbreaker at home in overtime. Rensselaer only missed the playoffs by a game.

Saturday’s failure put a damper on a good week for the Red Hawks, who went 2-1 last week and improved to 3-2 in league play and 5-10 overall. This week Rensselaer will travel to face hated rival Union and Skidmore, both of whom sit just behind RPI in the conference standings. Friday night’s game against the Dutchmen starts at 8 pm in Schenectady, N.Y., and Saturday afternoon’s battle with the Thoroughbreds begins at 4 pm in Saratoga, N.Y.