CLARKSON FALLS IN COACHES VS CANCER CHAMPIONSHIP, 63-58

November 22, 2003

Potsdam, NY - Tournament MVP Christian Turner scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and made two important steals in the final minutes as Potsdam State defeated the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team 63-58 in the championship game of the North Country "Coaches Vs. Cancer" Classic Saturday afternoon at Clarkson's Alumni Gynasium.

In the consolation game, Paul Smith’s used a 14-0 run to start the second half and take control, finishing with an 86-65 win over St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn.

In the first half of the championship game, the Bears jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the opening minutes as Clarkson struggled to get into its offense and Turner shot 5-for-5 in the early going for Potsdam. However, Clarkson closed the gap to 14-12 and neither team extended the lead beyond four points for the remainder of the half as the game was tied 29-29 at the end of 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Golden Knights ran out to an 8-point advantage early, but Potsdam scurried back to tie the game at 41-41. Potsdam then pushed to a six-point lead on several occasions and held off a late-charge by the Knights.

All-Tournament selection Junior Clayton scored 10 points and added four rebounds and five assists for the Bears in a balanced scoring attack for Potsdam. Josh Harner (Houston, TX) led the Golden Knights with 12 points in 24 minutes, while Kevin Williams (Syracuse, NY) added eight points, eight rebounds and five steals for Clarkson. Both Harner and Williams were also all-tournament selections. Matt Decker (Whitney Point, NY) and Jon Youngmann (Corinth, NY) also scored 10 points each for the Golden Knights, who fell to 1-1 on the season.

Ray Melendez, an all-tournament selection, scored a tournament-high 35 points and added 11 assists and six rebounds for Paul Smith’s in the consolation game. Craig Milledge added 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting, and grabbed 16 rebounds. Tony Dagner also added 18 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes for the Bobcats. Luke Caccavo shot 11-for-22 from the floor to lead St. Joseph’s with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Billy Haufmann and Chris Distefano added 11 points and 10 points, respectively, for the Bears.

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