Troy, NY – After a 38-point first half that saw the team hit 53.1% of its shots in the opening 20 minutes, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team went cold in the second half and saw a 19-point lead evaporate into a 62-54 defeat at the hands of Rensselaer on Friday night.

The Golden Knights fell to 5-6 overall and 0-2 in the Liberty League, while Rensselaer moved to 8-4 and 2-1. Clarkson will look to pick up its first conference win on Saturday when they face Union College.

Off the opening tip, senior Derek Hart sunk a layup 10 seconds into the game and Clarkson would lead for the remainder of the half. The Knights scored the first seven points of the game and held an 18-5 advantage through eight minutes. Rensselaer was able to cut the margin to seven points on two occasions later in the half and trailed by eight points at the 6:15 mark (27-19). On the ensuing Clarkson possession, Michael Hayduk buried a 3-pointer to spark an 11-2 run over the last six minutes of the half, which included a jumper from Drew Zlogar in the final seconds, giving the Knights a 38-21 advantage at the break.

Clarkson shot 17-for-32 in the first half (53.1%) while limiting Rensselaer to just a 31.0% field goal percentage on 9-for-29 shooting. Clarkson also held a 23-14 edge on the boards. Derek Hart continued to be a burden for the opposition, scoring 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the floor, while classmate Hayduk scored 12 points, making four of his six attempts from the 3-point line. Rensselaer's limited scoring was spread out, with sophomore Tom Horvat scoring five for the Engineers.

Although things started off in the Knights' favor in the second half, things quickly changed as Clarkson made just a single basket in a stretch of nearly 14 minutes. Down 43-27, Rensselaer took advantage of the drought, going on a 16-2 run in a span of less than five minutes to pull within two at the 9:48 mark when Asa Barnhill buried a 3-pointer. Less than two minutes later, Rensselaer was within a single point after Horvat made a jumper and added a free throw. Clarkson's offense remained stymied in the next few minutes and Rensselaer took its first lead at the 6:25 mark of the second half on a jumper from Nate Kane. The Engineers built their lead to six points with two minutes to go, but Liam Ellis ended a 1-for-16 stretch by Clarkson with a layup and free throw at the 1:36 mark to get the Knights back to within three (55-52). With just over a minute to go, Ellis added two free throws to drop the deficit to two, but the Knights missed three shots and committed two turnovers in the final 45 seconds, unable to complete the comeback.

Clarkson shot just 4-for-27 and 0-for-8 from the 3-point arc in the second half, while Rensselaer reversed its first half by shooting close to 50 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes (13-for-27). Derek Hart finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season, and Hayduk ended with 12 points. Liam Ellis also chipped in seven points and six rebounds for Clarkson. For Rensselaer, Horvat closed the game with 20 points, scoring 15 in the second half, and Nate Kane added 10 points. Jonathan Luster also contributed eight points and eight rebounds for the Engineers.