Saratoga Springs, NY - Three Golden Knights finished in double figures but it wasn't enough to overcome an early deficit as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team dropped a 66-61 decision at Skidmore in Liberty League action Tuesday evening.

The Golden Knights fell to 7-10 overall and saw their conference record even out at 4-4, while Skidmore improved to 9-6 and 4-3. Clarkson will now get 10 days off before returning to league action on the final weekend of January.

In the first half, the Knights were down by just one eight minutes into the half (12-11), but Skidmore raced out to a double-digit lead with a 14-3 run and then pushed its advantage to 14 points with four minutes left in the half. While the Thoroughbreds maintained their 14-point lead a few minutes into the second half, the thought of a rout was ended as Clarkson jumped back into the game with a 9-0 run. A Liam Ellis 3-pointer at 11:45 pulled the Knights to within three and a Derek Hart layup two minutes later had Clarkson within a single point (50-49). Two minutes later, Clarkson was still down by just one when Felix Abongo reach double figures, but that was as close as the Knights would get. Up by two points with two minutes to go in the game, Skidmore scored five of the final seven points in the game to escape with the win.

Clarkson could have possibly forced the game into overtime with a better performance from the free throw line, but the Knights shot just 20-for-34 from the line, 21 more attempts than awarded to the Thoroughbreds. Derek Hart led the Knights with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting, adding in six rebounds and three blocks, while Felix Abongo was a rebound short of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds to go along with three assists. Conrad Zampier also tossed in 10 points for the Knights. For the Thoroughbreds, Edvinas Rupkus scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the first half, going 11-for-16 from the field overall. The freshman also chipped in eight boards and three assists for Skidmore.