CORTLAND, N.Y. - Clarkson's Brandon Linton (Queens/Holy Cross) tied the game in the final seven seconds of both regulation and the first overtime period and Elson Pickering's (Brooklyn/Frederick Douglass Academy) free throw with 1:13 left in the second overtime broke a 54-54 tie as the visiting Golden Knights edged Cortland, 55-54, in a non-league battle. Clarkson improves to 8-2 with the victory while Cortland is now 4-5, including double overtime losses in each of its last two games.
Linton led Clarkson with 12 points, four assists, four steals and three blocked shots. George Koduah (Accra, Ghana/St. Augustine's College) added 11 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
Sophomore Ron Evans (New Hartford) led Cortland with 17 points and four steals. Senior Carson Niehoff (West Islip) scored 13 points off the bench and junior Mike Lewis (Brewerton/Central Square) finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
Cortland led 41-39 with 3:32 left in regulation after a Niehoff jumper, but neither team scored again for more than three minutes. The Red Dragons stole a pass with 10 seconds left and got fouled, but missed both free throw attempts. Linton raced down the court and hit a short driving jumper with 3.6 seconds left to force overtime.
The hosts regained a four-point lead at 46-42 with 2:36 left in the first overtime on an Evans' three-pointer and two Niehoff foul shots. Linton, however, made two foul shots with 2:17 remaining and Koduah tied the game on a layup with about 25 seconds on the clock. On Cortland's next possession, Niehoff was fouled on a drive from the right side and sank two free throws with 8.9 seconds left to put the Red Dragons up. Cortland, however, fouled Linton as he was driving down the right sideline with 6.9 seconds left, and his two foul shots knotted the game. Niehoff's 19-foot jumper missed the mark to send the game to a second extra session.
Cortland grabbed its final lead at 50-48 on a layup by Evans 19 seconds into the second overtime. Clarkson scored the next two buckets on shots by Pickering and Linton, with Cortland answering on a Paul Oliver (Phoenix) layup to tie the game with 3:07 left. Two Keith Murray (Queens/St. John's Northwestern Military Academy) free throws for Clarkson at the 2:41 mark were answered by a Will Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) layup for Cortland with 2:12 left and the teams were tied at 54-54.
Pickering was fouled with 1:13 left and made the second of two free throws to put the Golden Knights ahead. Following a turnover by each team, Cortland had a last chance for the victory, but Niehoff's jumper missed and Coston's follow-up jumper from about 17 feet out hit the backboard and the rim before bouncing away at the buzzer.
Both teams struggled with their shooting from the field. Cortland was held to 29 percent (19-of-65), while Clarkson was 33 percent (36 percent), including just seven percent (1-of-15) from three-point range. Clarkson, however, made 14-of-17 foul shots to just 12-of-23 for Cortland.
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