POTSDAM, NY – The RIT men's basketball team (7-6, 3-1 Liberty League) dropped its first conference game of the season with a 75-68 loss at Clarkson University (7-8, 4-2 Liberty League) Friday evening. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Tigers.
 
RIT shot 38.0 percent from the floor on 27-of-71 shooting. The Tigers went 9-of-23 from behind the arc, and were 5-of-9 from the foul line. AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) and Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) led RIT with 19 points apiece. Horde finished with three assists and four steals, while Davis led the Tigers with 10 rebounds. Anthony Lewis (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) scored 12 points off the bench for the Tigers.

Horde was coming off a career-hihg 47 point effort which included a school record 11 made 3-pointers in a 104-101 overtime win against Union on Tuesday.
 
Feliz Abongo was one of four Golden Knights in double figures, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Conrad Zampier added 16 points, while Drew Zlogar scored 15 points for Clarkson, who shot 41.8 percent from the floor.
 
RIT led 10-4 early in the first half. Davis scored four of RIT's first six points, while Mitch Herman (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) drained a 3-pointer early in the game to get the Tigers on the board. Zlogar gave Clarkson its first lead of the game with 7:39 to play in the first half on a 3-pointer. Clarkson built its lead to 18 points on a layup by Zampier with 1:54 to play and led 44-26 at the half.
 
RIT opened the second half on a 14-4 run, including eight straight points, cutting the Clarkson lead to 48-38 on Horde's 3-pointer off a steal. He drained a 3-pointer from the corner, and then another off a steal after Lopez had driven in and scored for the Tigers. Anthony Lewis (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) made it 48-40 on his jumper off a nice dish from Justin Schneider (Aurora, NY/Southern Cayuga). That capped off the 14-4 run by the Tigers to open the second half.
 
Horde cut the Clarkson lead to 51-44 with 12:58 to play on his steal and layup. After two straight by the Golden Knights increased the lead to 56-44, RIT answered with baskets on three straight possessions. Davis had a layup and Horde drained another long range shot, cutting the lead to 56-51 with 9:35 to play.

With 7:34 to play in regulation Sheldon Clay (Detroit, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) scored off an assist from Lopez cutting the Clarkson lead to 57-53, the closest the Tigers had been since the first half. But Clarkson was able to weather the storm, outscoring the Tigers 22-11 over the final seven minutes.

RIT held a 42-39 rebounding edge, scoring 16 second chance points. The Tigers tallied 32 points in the paint and scored 18 points off of 15 Clarkson turnovers.
 
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 16 when the Tigers face St. Lawrence University at 4 p.m. in Canton, N.Y,