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Condlin, Saints men's basketball drop Engineers 80-61

Posted 2/9/14

The St. Lawrence University men's basketball team played perhaps its most thorough game of the season on Saturday, as the Saints shot nearly 60% from the floor and held Rensselaer to 39 fewer points …

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Condlin, Saints men's basketball drop Engineers 80-61

Posted

The St. Lawrence University men's basketball team played perhaps its most thorough game of the season on Saturday, as the Saints shot nearly 60% from the floor and held Rensselaer to 39 fewer points than the previous meeting this season in an impressive 80-61 win in the Burkman Gymnasium. Junior Brady Condlin led four Saints in double figures with a game-high 19 points.

The victory snaps a five-game skid for the Saints (7-12, 3-7), who also got a career-high 15 points from Kieran Miller, 14 from Kyle Edwards and 11 from Janpeter Brase, who finished with a double-double (10 rebounds). Meanwhile, Rensselaer falls to 7-14 (5-7), with Tyler Gendron leading the way with 11 points. The Engineers struggled in the first half, shooting only 31%, and though they shot over 50% in the second half, the visitors made only 6-of-19 free throws (32%), which hampered their comeback efforts throughout.

Rensselaer ran a full court press throughout most of the game, which did create several turnovers, but also led to several uncontested St. Lawrence baskets. The Saints built an early 13-6 lead with some hot shooting and offensive rebounding, as rookie David Hampton knocked down a three to give his team the seven-point lead. Though the Engineers would get within two at 13-11, the Saints ran off a 12-2 run to seize control at 25-13 with 5:36 to play in the half.

Miller was a force in the low post for St. Lawrence, finishing 5-for-6 for 10 points in the half as his team opened up a 14-point cushion. Reggie Colas, who closed with six points to lead RPI in the half, would help cut the deficit to 10 at the break, trailing 35-25.

St. Lawrence has had several close losses recently, including an overtime loss to Union yesterday, but the team turned the page on Saturday with an outstanding second half to close the book on to 80-61 win. As RPI proved to be the team that struggled from the free throw line (4-of-14), St. Lawrence cruised to victory by shooting 67% (16-of-24) in the second half. Condlin was brilliant, shooting 7-of-9 including 2-of-3 from behind the arc for 17 points. The home team gave great effort on the defensive end, controlled the tempo the entire half and fought for rebounds to solidify the lead. The cushion grew as high as 20, and the Engineers never got closer than 11 as the Saints picked up a sound 19-point win.

Both teams finished with 30 rebounds in the game, while St. Lawrence held a 24-18 advantage in assists. The Saints shot 80% from the free throw line (12-of-15), and will look to carry some momentum into a Tuesday night showdown on February 11 against Skidmore College in the Burkman Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00pm.