Potsdam, NY – After two less than stellar shooting performances from the perimeter, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team broke out with 12 3-pointers to take down Gordon College 78-67 in the North Country Invitational Championship game Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improved to 2-1 on the season while Gordon College moved to 2-1 as well. In the consolation game, Potsdam downed St. Joseph's College 85-68.

Clarkson came out hot and never really struggled from the outside. With the game tied 6-6 in the early going, Mike Hayduk buried a 3-pointer and Derek Hart converted a 3-point play the old fashioned way, allowing Clarkson to go on an 8-0 run. The Knights would push their advantage to double figures near the midway point of the half after a Conrad Zampier lay in with 10:06 to go. A Matt Hornak 3-pointer with 5:08 to go gave Clarkson its biggest lead of the ball game at 33-20, but Gordon utilized an 8-0 run to get back into the contest. Only a pair of free throws from Keenan Gayle with 3.7 seconds left in the half could halt the Fighting Scots run.

Clarkson would not fall victim to the problems that Potsdam had on Friday night, coming out quickly to extend their lead to 13 points when Drew Zlogar hit his 3-pointer at the 18:12 mark. However, Gordon climbed back to within four points on four occasions in the next nine minutes, pulling to within two possessions at 9:17. Up by five a minute later, Mike Hayduk buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, his fifth of the game, to lift the Knights back up by eight. A Malaquias Canery 3-point play only 25 seconds later put Clarkson up by double digits again and at only one point the rest of the way would Clarkson not lead by at least 10.

Derek Hart, chosen the North Country Invitational's Most Valuable Player, scored 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting and also added seven rebounds. Hayduk recorded a career-high 15, all coming on 3-pointers, while Zlogar and Conrad Zampier, who made the All-Tournament Team, each added in 11 points. For Gordon College, Sam Johnson had a double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds, while Jake Haar had a game-high 19 points. Noah Szilagyi and Jaren Yang also tossed in 11 each. Johnson and Garrison Duvivier were chosen All-Tournament team members.

In the opening game, the consolation match up between St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) and SUNY Potsdam, the visiting Bears jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the first 3:15, but consecutive 3-pointers by Nosa Onabor gave Potsdam a lead it would not relinquish. St. Josephs' closed to within one point at 13-12, but a 7-0 run allowed Potsdam to regain an eight-point advantage. The difference in the first half came in the final six-plus minutes, as Potsdam State finished on a 13-2 run as St. Joseph's struggled to make shots from the perimeter and the interior.

Onabor led Potsdam with 13 points in the first half, going 4-for-8 overall with a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the 3-point arc. Aaron Parra was the top performer for St. Joseph's, scoring four points and grabbing five boards.

Despite the two teams combining for 95 points in the second half, play was somewhat sloppy in the final 20 minutes save for the effort of Nosa Onabar. The sophomore guard buried five more 3-pointers and finished with 32 points overall, adding in eight rebounds. Only Tyrone Adeyeye tacked on 10 points and five boards for Potsdam. For St. Joseph's, Aaron Parra contributed a near double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Iglesias also scored nine for St. Joseph's. Onabar and Parra were selected All-Tournament team members.