(Potsdam, N.Y.)- The SUNY Canton men's basketball team ran into a balanced Clarkson University attack Friday night in the opening round of the North Country Invitational as the Golden Knight handed the Roos a 103-62 loss.

The Roos dropped to 1-2 overall and will play in the consolation game on Saturday at 1 p.m. against SUNY Potsdam or the College of St. Joseph.

The game remained close through the first six minutes of the opening half as the lead changed hands twice but Clarkson slowly began to wear the Roos down with hot shooting from the field and especially from beyond the arc where they hit 10 of 17 attempts in the first half.  The Golden Knights went on to shoot 58 percent in the first 20 minutes and led 54-31 at halftime.

Tony Valentin (Perth Amboy, N.J.) led four SUNY Canton players in double figures as he dropped in 18 points, including perfect 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line.

Irving Cato (New York, N.Y.) added 14 points and five rebounds.  Silvon John (Bronx, N.Y.) had 11 points and seven boards.  Jajuan Williams (Richlands, N.C.) also had 11 points and was 7-for-8 from the line and Jeff Grenier (Whitehall, N.Y.) grabbed 10 rebounds.

Every Clarkson played scored at least two points and they were led by Rey Jefferson who had 14.  Felix Llanos, Nik Marquis and Pat Mott each scored 11 points apiece.