Wilkes held a 61-58 lead following a basket inside by Tom Kresge with 2:13 left. Clarkson then began their game-changing run when Ryan Smith scored inside to cut the deficit to 61-60. On the Golden Knights next possession Elson Pickering was fouled and hit two free throws to give his team a 62-61 lead with 1:21 remaining.
After the Colonels missed a chance to regain the lead on their ensuing possession, Brandon Linton scored on a drive to up the Clarkson lead to 64-61. The Colonels would turn the ball over on their next trip down the court and Clarkson’s EJ Harrison was intentionally fouled. Harrison hit one of two charity tosses and the Golden Knights maintained possession. Pickering was fouled on the inbounds pass and sank both free throws to extend the gap to 67-61 with 49 seconds remaining.
Wilkes turned the ball over the next time they had the ball and Pickering was intentionally fouled with 41 seconds left. He hit one free throw and then converted a traditional three-point play for the Golden Knights with 37 ticks left to make it 71-61 with 37 seconds showing on the clock. The Colonels finally broke their drought when Kresge scored down low to pull his team within 71-63 with 28 seconds left, but that is as close as they would get.
The game went back and forth throughout a first half that featured four ties and five lead changes. Clarkson took the biggest lead of the half at 27-19 on a Harrison basket with 4:04 left in the period. Wilkes would battle back to tie the game on a John Kelly three-pointer with 1:22 showing on the clock and the two teams would head to the locker room deadlocked at 31-31.
The second half was equally as close until the final run by the Golden Knights. There were four ties and 13 lead changes in the final 20 minutes and neither team was able to gain separation. Clarkson’s biggest lead in the second period prior to the final minute was six points, while the Colonels largest lead was three points.
Pickering led the Golden Knights with a game-high 21 points. Jon Youngmann contributed 13 tallies. Erick Vigansky had 12 points and Keith Murray chipped in with 10 tallies.
Jeremy Kable cashed in 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from behind the three-point arc to pace Wilkes. Dan Adams finished with 12 points and Steve Kline had 11 points and a game-high five assists.