Men's Basketball | 1/14/2012 6:04:00 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY – A furious second half comeback proved to not be enough, as the RIT men's basketball team (5-8, 1-3 Liberty League) fell to Clarkson (9-3, 2-1 Liberty League) 92-85 on Saturday afternoon. Clarkson led by as many as 22 late in the first half and jumped out to a 50-30 edge at halftime.
 
With under seven minutes to play the Tigers caught fire.  Kurt Fenderbosch (Myrtle Beach, SC/Socastee) sank a three, followed by a steal and three-point play by Justin Heisig (Levittown, NY/Island Trees).  Fenderbosch sank another three to cap off a 9-0 run in just 1:16. RIT got to within four off of another jumper by Heisig just one minute later to make it 78-74, but that was as close as the Tigers would get, as Felix Llanos hitting a couple of clutch threes to secure the win for Clarkson.
 
Fenderbosch set a new career-high for the second straight day, scoring 26 points, including five threes.  Heisig finished with 24 points and eight rebounds.  Llanos led the way for the Golden Knights with 26 points.
 
The Tigers stayed closed in the early stages of the game, but an 18-8 run to close out the first half gave the Golden Knights a 50-30 advantage at the break.
 
Clarkson shot lights out in the first half, hitting 20-of-33 shots (60.6 %) including 10-for-13 (76.9 %) from beyond the arc.  The Golden Knights brought a balanced attack, with three players scoring in double figures in the opening 20 minutes.
 
RIT outrebounded Clarkson 37-33 and outscored the Golden Knights 48-32 in the paint.  Nick Dobson (Corning, NY/Corning West) tied a career-high with 12 points.
 
RIT shot 34-for-73 (46.6 %) from the field, while Clarkson finished the game 34-for-63 (54.0 %).
 
The Tigers are back in action on Tuesday, January 17, when they host Liberty League rival Hobart at 8 p.m.