POTSDAM, N.Y. – Junior Tanner Tedesco scored a game-high 23 points and classmate Jack Plesser added 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to lead the Union College men's basketball team to a key 83-77 victory over Clarkson University in the penultimate game of the regular season on Friday evening at Alumni Gym.
 
The win, combined with Vassar College's loss to Hobart College, moved Union (19-5, 14-3 Liberty League) back into sole possession of second place in the conference standings with one game remaining. The Garnet Chargers can clinch a top-two seed in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament with a win in Saturday's regular-season finale at St. Lawrence University or a Vassar loss to Ithaca College.
 
Tedesco led all scorers with his 23 points, hitting 5-of-10 shots from long range and all six free-throw attempts to go with four rebounds and three assists, moving him to within four points of becoming the program's 26th 1,000-point scorer. Plesser had the game's only double-double with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, in the process becoming the 14th player in program history to score 500 points in a season and moving into a tie for 11th place on the school's single-season scoring list. Fellow junior Matthew Garside also reached double figures with 11 points and a game-high four assists, while senior Christian Dufort just missed a double-double of his own with nine points and 10 caroms.
 
The Garnet Chargers trailed for less than three minutes on Friday, but that doesn't mean the win came easy. After Clarkson (11-13, 6-11 Liberty League) took a 10-9 lead early in the first half, the visitors rattled off an 18-3 run that opened up a 27-13 advantage with 6:59 left on the opening frame. Plesser had a team-best seven points during the run, which saw Clarkson miss 10-of-11 shots and Union hit 7-of-13 attempts. The lead bumped up to as many as 17 points after a Plesser layup with 3:20 left put the visitors up 36-19, and Union went into halftime with a seemingly comfortable 43-30 edge.
 
The Golden Knights did not go away in the second half, however, shooting 55.9 percent (19 of 34) to claw back into the contest. With Union still holding a double-digit lead at 53-43, the home team scored 10 in a row to even the score at 53 with 14:09 on the clock, but Tedesco responded with a three on the next possession to put Union back in front for good. Clarkson got back within a point at 67-66 with 4:31 to go before back-to-back baskets from Dufort and Garside made it a five-point game with under three minutes left.
 
A clutch three by first-year Cade Furse with 1:28 on the clock doubled the Union lead to six at 75-69, and Union clinched the win by hitting all eight free throws over the final 50 seconds, with Tedesco sinking four and both Garside and Furse hitting a pair.
 
The Garnet Chargers shot only 39.4 percent (28 of 71) from the field on the evening, but held a 50-31 edge on the glass (including 20 offensive rebounds) that resulted in a 17-5 edge in second-chance points. Clarkson finished the evening at 45.6 percent (31 of 68) from the field.
 
Union will close out the regular season tomorrow with a 4 p.m. matchup at St. Lawrence.