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Coleman records career-high 33 In Clarkson men's basketball opening win over St. Joseph's

Posted 11/16/14

Potsdam, NY - Senior John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) helped new head coach Jeff Gorski to his first career win as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball coach by dropped a career-high 33 points, …

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Coleman records career-high 33 In Clarkson men's basketball opening win over St. Joseph's

Posted

Potsdam, NY - Senior John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) helped new head coach Jeff Gorski to his first career win as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball coach by dropped a career-high 33 points, including the first 15 of the game for the Golden Knights, as the Green and Gold gained an 89-78 victory over St. Joseph's Saturday night in the opening round of the annual North Country Classic.

The Golden Knights will take on Morrisville State at 3:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. The Mustangs fell to Potsdam State 64-61 in the opening game of the tournament, and the Bears will play against St. Joseph's at 1:00 pm on Sunday.

Coleman rattled off the first 15 points of the game for the Knights, starting the game 7-for-9 from the floor while the rest of the team was 0-for-9, but the other Golden Knights found their grooves later in the half as Clarkson tossed in 45 in the opening 20 minutes. Coleman had 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting in 17 first-half minutes, while Derek Hart (Poughkeepsie, NY) tossed in six points and added six rebounds in six minutes of action.

In the second half, St. Joseph's began the second half by chipping away slightly at the Clarkson advantage (45-34 at the half), but once again the Knights were able to rally around their leading scorer and hit the big shots when necessary. Both Charles McAllister (Olathe, KS) and Dylan Hodownes (Honeoye Falls, NY) hit big shots when needed, and the duo distributed the ball around the perimeter and to the interior with aplomb, combining for 14 assists (seven each). Coleman went 5-for-5 in the second half, including a controlled tip that led to a three-point play, his final points of the game.

Coleman finished with 33 points (14-for-19 from the floor, 3-for-3 from the free throw line) to go along with six rebounds and four steals, while McAllister and Conrad Zampier (East Greenbush, NY) each tossed in nine points, as did Hart, who also contributed four blocks. Hodownes finished with eight points and seven assists and Drew Zlogar (Clifton Park, NY) produced seven points in 12 minutes. For St. Joseph's, Dre Anderson went 10-for-20 from the floor for 25 points and eight rebounds, while Kashean Alston added 23 points and 10 boards, going 9-for-16 from the field. Steven Edwards also shot better than 50 percent from the field (6-for-11) to toss in 16 points.

In the opening game of the tournament, Potsdam came out flat in the first half and trailed by double figures almost immediately. However, the Bears never lost hope, despite trailing by 16 at the half (40-24). Potsdam shot 46.7% from the field in the second half, but more importantly the Bears made five of their nine attempts from beyond the 3-point arc, including some key makes in a stretch that made a double-digit deficit evaporate in only a few minutes. Frshman Tishseasn Emmanuel scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, going 7-for-8 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers to get Potsdam back into the game, and Joe Estramonte made a key 3-pointer, among his 14 points, with the shot clock running down.

For the Mustangs, Ibrahima Toure went 5-for-10 from the field for 14 points and Trent Ward chipped in 12 points and four assists. Jared Donalson was a force on the boards with 16 rebounds, making three blocks on the defensive end as well.