Springfield, MA - A five-minute scoreless drought in the final moments of Saturday afternoon's Naismith Classic Championship game squashed any hope of a comeback for the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team, as the Golden Knights fell 63-47 to Springfield College in the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic.

The Golden Knights saw their record fall to 7-2 on the season, closing out the non-conference slate for the 2014-15 season, while Springfield improved to 8-3. Clarkson will begin Liberty League play next weekend when it travels to Hobart College and RIT.

Though senior John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) would score on Clarkson's first possession of Saturday's game, that fleeting moment would be the last time that the Golden Knights would enjoy the lead. Springfield scored 12 of the next 14 points in the following 3:20, and though a Conrad Zampier (East Greenbush, NY) 3-pointer would eventually cut the Pride's advantage down to a single point (17-16) midway through the half, the Knights would get no closer. The Pride closed out the half with a 13-4 run and went into the locker room with a 30-20 advantage.

In the second half, Coleman again started things off with a basket to put Clarkson back within single digits, but Springfield would push its lead to as many as 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Charles McAllister (Olathe, KS) hit a 3-pointer at the 9:30 mark to get Clarkson back within nine (44-35), and Dylan Hodownes (Honeoye Falls, NY) would do the same at the 5:06 mark (53-44), Clarkson was unable to sustain a run to get any closer. Excaerbarting things in the final five minutes was Clarkson's inability to score in the final five minutes. It wasn't until Hodownes buried an unguarded 3-pointer at the buzzer that the Knights could break their scoreless streak. After shooting better than 45 percent in five of the first eight games of the season, Clarkson shot a season-low 32.1% from the floor, only the second time in 2014-15 that the Knights were below 40 percent from the field.

Coleman finished with a near double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while junior Felix Abongo (Beacon, NY) added in 12 points, eight boards, and three assists. Hodownes also contributed eight points. For Springfield, Sean Martin had an impressive all-around game with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Josh Altman added in 16 points and six assists. Josh Downs also contributed 14 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the floor.