Annandale-on-Hudson – Down a starter thanks to a freak injury, the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team needed to come up with points from unexpected sources. The Golden Knights got what they needed from Liberty League leading scorer Felix Llanos (Queens, NY), but his classmate Tyler Barron (Burlington, VT) filled in nicely to lift Clarkson to an 83-68 victory over Bard College Friday night.

The Golden Knights matched last year’s win total in improving to 12-4 overall on the season while moving to 5-2 in the Liberty League, while Bard fell to 3-12 and 1-6. Clarkson looks to continue its winning ways on Saturday at Vassar College.

Clarkson went scoreless for the first four minutes of Friday night’s contest, and trailed 9-2 through the first five minutes. However, the Knights were able to claw back into the contest and tied the score 17-17 at the 8:22 mark. A 3-pointer from Llanos gave Clarkson its first lead on the next possession, but the Knights were back down just a few moments later. Starting with back-to-back 3-pointers from Llanos, tying the game and then giving Clarkson the lead, the Knights finished the first half with a 14-6 run over the final five minutes to take a five-point lead into the locker room.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Clarkson poured in the points, scoring 10 in less than three minutes to extend its lead to double figures. Bard would pull within six points on four occasions, but each time Clarkson had an answer, either from Llanos or the Knights’ frontcourt, which rarely missed. One last push from the Raptors brought them within eight points, but another Llanos 3-pointer ended the rally as Clarkson made all the right plays down the stretch to clinch the victory.

Clarkson’s frontcourt was solid once again, shooting 16-for-20 from the floor. Nate Uline (Gansevoort, NY) and John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) each shot 6-for-7 from the floor and Christian Collette (Yalesville, CT) was nearly as efficient, going 4-for-6 from the field. Overall, the Knights were impressive on offense, shooting 57 percent from the floor (32-for-56), including 67 percent from inside the 3-point arc. Clarkson had 26 assists on 32 field goals and currently ranks second in the country in finding the open man.

Llanos finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting. He also added eight rebounds and four assists. Barron shot 5-for-6 from the field for a season-high 12 points while adding in five rebounds and five assists. Uline had 15 points while Coleman added 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals, and a block.

For Bard, Matt Shubert scored 17, but shot just 6-for-18 from the floor. Siondueh Burnette and Francis Arnold each tossed in 16 points, with Burnette producing a double-double thanks to 10 rebounds.