The Dutchmen, now 11-13 overall and 8-6 in the Liberty League, play at top seed Hamilton Friday at 8 p.m. The other semifinal matchup will feature #2 St. Lawrence vs. #3 Vassar at 6 p.m. Saturday’s title game will be at 3 p.m. Union was 0-2 against the Continentals but lost by just five on the road.
|Senior captain Joe Mackey (Flushing, NY/Archbishop Molloy) was honored before the game, his final regular season contest at home in his career. Mackey had 14 points, while sophomore guard Steve Madej (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) had 19 points to lead all Dutchmen. Joey Lokitis (Norton, MA/Phillips Academy) scored 12 and Kyle Grimm (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona-Sherrill) scored 10 in the balanced attack. Union shot 51% for the game and forced 18 Golden Knight turnovers. Senior guard/forward Erick Vigansky (Kenosha, WI/Tremper) led all players with 20 points, hitting seven of 11 shots for Clarkson. EJ Harrison (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) had 16 points and Jon Youngmann (Corinth, NY/Corinth) grabbed nine rebounds for the guests.
Union led 39-35 at the half, but the Golden Knights went on a 16-6 run in the first 7:06 of the first half for a six point advantage. With the game tied at 58-58 with 6:34 left, Union went on a 6-0 run in the next 2:55, and after the Saints pulled to within three at 70-67 with 50 seconds remaining, Mackey converted two free throws to open up the lead.
Clarkson vs Union 2/17/07 4:00 PM at Viniar Athletic Center, Schenectady, NY At Viniar Athletic Center, Schenectady, NY UNION 74, CLARKSON 69 CLARKSON (14-11, 5-9 Lib.) Erick Vigansky 7-11 3-3 20; EJ Harrison 4-10 7-12 16; Elson Pickering 6-10 2-2 14; Brian Salanger 2-6 0-0 6; Ryan Smith 1-3 3-4 5; Jon Youngmann 1-4 1-2 4; Keith Murray 2-3 0-0 4; Henry Hennep 0-0 0-0 0; Erik Gudmundsen 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Linares 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Linton 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 16-23 69. UNION (11-13, 8-6 Lib.) Steve Madej 7-11 0-0 19; Joe Mackey 5-8 4-5 14; Joey Lokitis 2-3 6-6 12; Drew Desmarais 4-12 3-6 11; Kyle Grimm 5-10 0-3 10; Nick DiMaggio 2-4 2-2 6; Brendan Rose 1-3 0-0 2; Sean Clancy 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Ciresi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 15-22 74. Clarkson...................... 35 34 - 69 Union......................... 39 35 - 74 3-point goals-Clarkson 7-19 (Erick Vigansky 3-6; Brian Salanger 2-4; Jon Youngmann 1-3; EJ Harrison 1-3; Brandon Linton 0-2; Keith Murray 0-1), Union 7-13 (Steve Madej 5-7; Joey Lokitis 2-3; Nick DiMaggio 0-1; Brendan Rose 0-1; Joe Mackey 0-1). Fouled out--Clarkson-None, Union-Drew Desmarais. Rebounds-Clarkson 33 (Jon Youngmann 9), Union 28 (Drew Desmarais 10). Assists-Clarkson 9 (EJ Harrison 2; Erick Vigansky 2), Union 14 (Steve Madej 4). Total fouls-Clarkson 21, Union 16.