ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RIT men's basketball team fell to Clarkson, 80–71, at home Friday evening. The Tigers cut a 14‑point second‑half deficit to six with just over a minute remaining, but the Golden Knights held on late at the free-throw line.
 
Junior guard Brody Brown led RIT with a career-high 23 points, including five three-pointers, while the Tigers outscored Clarkson 42–38 in the second half.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Clarkson built a 38–29 halftime lead behind eight three-pointers in the first half.
• The Tigers opened the second half with a three-pointer from junior guard Zac Ditzel to trim the deficit to 38–32.
• Brown hit back-to-back buckets during a 13–3 run that brought RIT within one point (43–42) at the 15:00 mark.
• The visitors responded with a 10–2 run capped by a Bobby Piddock layup to push the lead to eight points, 58–46.
• A late surge, including Brown's layup with 58 seconds left to make it a six-point game (77–71) before Clarkson sealed the win at the line.

 
GAME NOTES

• Brown scored a game‑high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. The junior's five made three-pointers is also a career best.
• Ditzel finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and two assists as graduate student forward Josiah Turner added 10 points.
• Sophomore Jaron Josephs contributed 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed six rebounds off the bench.
• RIT shot 29-of-71 (40.8%) from the floor and 9-of-27 (33.3%) from three.
• The Tigers matched Clarkson on the glass with 37 rebounds and totaled 18 assists.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT returns to action tomorrow (Feb. 7), hosting St. Lawrence at 4 p.m.