First-year Luke Hicks led the Saints with a career-high 24 points as the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team defeated Clarkson 88-65 to claim to Route-11 rivalry win on Tuesday night in Potsdam, New York.

The Saints improved to 15-6 on the season and continue to hold down the top spot in the Liberty League standings with a 12-2 record. Clarkson fell to 4-16 and 3-10.

Hicks shot 8-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the arc, while Riley Naclerio and Ben Crawford added 13 points and 12 points, respectively. Both Naclerio and Crawford grabbed six rebounds for the Saints.

St. Lawrence shot an impressive 57.1% from the floor and forced the Golden Knights to turn the ball over 10 times in the first half to take a 45-28 halftime lead.

Clarkson opened the second half with a 16-4 run and worked to close the gap to just seven points with 7:35 to play but would never come any closer.

The Saints rallied and quickly extended their lead back to double-digits and amassed a 23-point spread with 2:46 to play, ultimately sealing the Saints fourth straight win.

"We knew tonight was going to be a battle and that's just what it was," said head coach Chris Downs. "Everyone pitched in and it was a full team effort to get the win. We know we need to apply the same intensity heading into two more games this weekend."

Matt Higgins shot 6-for-11 from the arc and led Clarkson with 29 points and eight rebounds, while Reese Swedberg finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

St. Lawrence combined to shoot 56.6% from the floor, 50% from the arc and 79.2% from the line and held Clarkson to 40% shooting from the floor and 40.7% from the arc. The Saints recorded 28 points off turnovers and 23 points off the bench.

The Saints will host Union on Friday, February 8 and Ithaca on Saturday, February 9. Game times are set for 5 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.