The RPI men’s basketball team hit the road for a two game set with Clarkson and St. Lawrence on back-to-back days. Going 1-1 this weekend leaves the men two games above .500 as they stare at the back end of a schedule consisting of nine more games.
A strong team defense in the first half gave RPI the early advantage over Clarkson. Opening the game going three for 23 and shooting a poor 13 percent from the floor, it would seem as if the Golden Knights had dug themselves into a rather large hole to come back from.
Free throws, however, kept Clarkson within reach for the majority of the half. The Red Hawks’ largest lead was nine, which is what they led by headed into the break, the score being 27-18.
When the action picked back up in the second half, a 12-2 Rensselaer run at the 12-minute mark provided the boost that would propel Coach Mike Griffin and company to the victory. While Clarkson did all they could to claw their way back in to the game, the Red Hawks would control the boards, out-rebounding the Knights 39-24 on the night, and retain a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, ultimately taking the contest by a score of 67-49.
Junior Sam Simmons led the way for RPI shooting 9-11 from the field en route to a game-high 18 points. Classmate Kyle Kowalczyk also provided a lift adding 13 points off the bench. Clarkson was paced by Erick Vigansky and EJ Harrison who both had 11.
Things were not as smooth for Rensselaer when it returned to action the next afternoon in a matinee match-up with St. Lawrence University. RPI only trailed by five at the intermission, 35-30, after a first half in which they were down by as much as 15 but was closed out on a 10-0 run.
The Red Hawks would hope to build off the momentum in the second half; however, the Saints would hear none of it mounting an 11-2 run and increasing their lead to 11.
St. Lawrence would remain up by 10 with roughly five minutes left on the game clock; this time, though, it was the Red Hawks who turned up the energy. Four straight buckets put RPI down by a single point, 63-62, but that would be as close as they would come. An easy basket down the other end followed by six clutch free throws down the stretch put the nail in the coffin as Rensselaer lost the game 71-65.
Senior Neal Wesson was RPI’s high man with 14. Michael Visker, also a senior, and Simmons, who grabbed seven rebounds, both scored 13 for the Red Hawks. The Saints had four players reach double-digit scoring. Sophomore Tom Wopperer led the way with 16, Josh Sharlow chipped in with 14.
Rensselaer’s record now stands at 9-7 on the season, 2-3 in league play. The men will be back to work this weekend with Friday and Saturday games versus Hamilton and St. Lawrence. Both will be home at Robison Gym.
