The men’s basketball team split its final weekend in the Robison Gym. On Friday night the Red Hawks beat the Clarkson University Golden Knights 63-49, followed by their Saturday afternoon 76-84 loss to the St. Lawrence University Saints. RPI just missed the fourth seed as it needed a win over the Saints after Vassar College defeated Clarkson the same day. Rensselaer finished the season 11-14 overall, 6-8 in conference play.
On Friday, the Red Hawks relied on strong defense in the first half of the game, giving up just 16 points. Heading into the half, Rensselaer led 28-16. Clarkson did manage to take the lead several times in the second half, but RPI was led by Senior Sam Simmon’s 18 points and 18 rebounds and went on to win.
The next afternoon saw first place St. Lawrence lead the entire game as the visitors shot nearly 67 percent in their victory as they improved to 17-8 overall, 12-2 in the Liberty League.
Despite RPI keeping the game tight, St. Lawrence led 47-40 at the break while the Saints shot a full 72 percent in the first half.
By the end of the game, the Red Hawks had whittled down the deficit to just four points with one minute remaining. Four Saints free-throws, however, secured the win for the visitors. Simmons again had 18 points, with eight rebounds, and four assists. Classmate Sam Zullo had 15 points and sophomore Ricky Philatre had 10.
The Liberty League named Simmons as their Forward of the Week for the fifth time this season. Simmons is second in the league in scoring and rebounding.
