Potsdam, NY – Over the final 20 minutes, RPI shot 13-for-19 from the floor in a slow-paced half as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team lost for the first time in Liberty League play 71-56 on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights fell to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in conference games while the Engineers remained unbeaten at 8-0 and 3-0. Clarkson has one game remaining in 2024, heading to Alfred State after the first semester's finals.

In stark contrast to Friday's game where both Rensselaer and St. Lawrence had 14 points at the half, Clarkson dictated pace early on with some early scoring. Both teams were in double figures with just over five minutes off the clock and each had reached 14 points with barely over seven minutes gone. Clarkson was able to get some easy makes on the interior from Finn Cork and the game was tied at 23 with 8:30 to go, but a minute later, the Engineers began a 12-3 run with the last seven points coming from PJ Scalisi. Steve DeRegis halted the streak with a 3-pointer, pulling the Knights back within six at the break.

Clarkson was 12-for-28 in the first half and the Engineers had the same number of makes with one less attempt. DeRegis and Scalisi led all scorers with nine points in the first 20 minutes.

The second half was more in the speed that the Engineers appreciate, as Clarkson was limited to roughly 26 possessions in the final 20 minutes. Additionally, RPI shot incredibly well from the floor, going 13-for-19 (68.4%) by going to the interior. Clarkson found itself down by a handful of possessions, though the team did get back within eight after a Jack Dalgety 3-pointer with 8:54 remaining made it 55-47. Up by nine with five minutes to go, Dylan Matchett hit a key 3-pointer from the wing to put RPI ahead by 12 with 4:34 left, and the Engineers never led by less than double digits again.

Senior Jack Dalgety led all scorers with 16 points and Finn Cork had 12 points and five assists. Both Braeden Burns and Steve DeRegis finished with 11 points.

For RPI, Dylan Matchett scored 14 and Andrew Deppe tossed in 12. PJ Scalisi also ended up in double figures with 11 points.