Potsdam, NY-Senior guard EJ Harrison (Troy, NY) shot 7-for-10 from the floor for a game-high 16 points as the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team eased past Castleton State 65-46 in the opening round of the North Country Invitational Friday night.

The Golden Knights started the season with a win for the second straight season and will face Potsdam State in the tournament's championship game at 4:00 pm on Saturday. Castleton State will play Green Mountain College in the consolation game at 2:00 pm.

Clarkson jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the first few minutes as the team saw both Harrison and Brandon Rigg-Reives (Elmont, NY) nail 3-pointers. The Spartans chopped the lead down to two, but Clarkson went on another run and went into the half with a 16-point advantage. The second half saw the two teams go back and forth as the Knights took off some of the pressure late, but the team still built its lead to over 20 points before finishing up by 19.

Harrison finished with 16 points to go along with team-highs of 8 rebounds and 3 assists in 27 minutes. Classmate Jon Youngmann (Corinth, NY) almost matched Harrison with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line. In all, 13 of the 14 Clarkson players scored at least two points in the game, making for a balanced box score.

Jeremy Jorgensen scored a team-high 14 points for the Spartans on 6-for-17 shooting and added eight rebounds. Joey Fraley contributed 10 points for Castleton.