Potsdam, NY – Sophomore Barryn Shark spurred the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team into a 28-9 first half run with some adept passing as the Golden Knights claimed a 76-44 victory over Green Mountain College in the consolation game of the North Country Invitational.

The Golden Knights moved to 1-1 on the season with the win while Green Mountain dropped to 1-2. Clarkson will open up play at home on Tuesday when it hosts Oswego State.

Clarkson struggled to find the bottom of the net in the early going, missing three 3-point field goals and turning the ball over once without an offensive rebounds in its first four possessions before Matt Higgins finally broke through with a layup at 17:22. Two minutes later, Gary Hanley added another basket, but the Knights remained somewhat stagnant offensively through the first five minutes. Sophomore Barryn Shark was inserted into the lineup for the Knights and immediately began paying dividends, as he dished out nine assists on Clarkson's 11 makes in the next 10 minutes as the Knights pushed out to a 32-13 lead, going on a 28-9 run with Shark running the point. Clarkson maintained that 19-point lead until the final possession when a layup and a free throw with one second to go for Green Mountain pulled the Eagles to 16 at the break, 37-21.

Matt Higgins and Malaquias Canery led Clarkson with 10 points each, with Canery going 4-for-6 from the floor for the Knights. For Green Mountain, Duane Goodman, Jr. scored seven points, but the Eagles shot just 7-for-28 from the floor with 12 turnovers.

The Eagles made a 3-pointer out of the break, but cutting the margin to 13 was as close as Green Mountain would get. The Knights pushed their advantage to more than 20 before four minutes had expired from the half and the lead grew from there. A basket by Drew MacInnis at the 9:30 mark put the Knights up by 30, and Clarkson stretched the lead to 35 three minutes later when Barryn Shark hit a 3-pointer and Cormac Bettinger quickly followed with a layup with just under six minutes to go.

Three players finished in double figures for Clarkson, led by Matt Higgins' 15 points. Roburt Welch tossed in 14 points by going 4-for-7 from the arc, while Malaquias Canery finished with 10. Barryn Shark distributed 11 assists and also kicked in five points and five boards. For Green Mountain, Duane Goodman, Jr. finished with 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting.