Poughkeepsie, NY – Sophomore Matt Higgins posted his first double-double with collegiate highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds, but the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team came up short on the road against Vassar, falling 69-63 in Liberty League action Friday night.

The Golden Knights fell to 4-6 overall and 0-3 in the Liberty League, while Vassar picked up its first conference victory to move to 2-8 and 1-2. Clarkson heads to Bard College on Saturday afternoon before returning home for a seven-game home stand.

For the third straight game, the Golden Knights couldn't keep up their torrid run from the 3-point line, going 6-for-23 from distance. Clarkson has gone just 22-for-73 (30.1%) from the arc in its last three games after shooting 42.6% (81-for-190) in the opening seven games.

It took five minutes for Clarkson to record its first basket of the game as the Knights found themselves down by double figures in the early going against the Brewers. However, Clarkson quickly recovered from a 13-3 deficit and came all the way back to take the lead at 18-17 following a Jason Phelps jumper at the 9:24 mark. Clarkson had its second lead of the game five minutes later after Malaquias Canery made a layup at the 4:36 mark, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Vassar helped the Brewers regain the lead, one which they would never relinquish.

In the second half, Higgins almost single-handedly kept Clarkson in the game, making key shots to keep the Knights close. At the 14:06 mark, Higgins made a three-pointer to get the Knights within one, and baskets at 9:59 and 7:38 halted brief runs by the Brewers. After a pair of free throws from Matthew Hornak pulled Clarkson to within three (61-58), the Knights went quiet on offense. Alex Seff made a 3-pointer with 1:09 to go to extend Vassar's lead to six, and although Clarkson would get back to within four on two occasions, Vassar made enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Knights at a safe distance.

Higgins scored a career-high 23 points on 7-for-16 shooting, going 4-for-8 from the 3-point line and a flawless 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Canery also chipped in 16 points off the bench for Clarkson. Higgins shot 50.0% from the arc, but the rest of the team was just a combined 2-for-15 (13.3%). Jesse Browne led Vassar with 22 points, getting 10 from the free throw line on 11 tries. Paul Grinde recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards and Alex Seff tossed in 12 points for the Brewers.