Burns Posts Career-Best 34 Points in Knights' Loss at SLU, 71-59

Will Leiphart

Men's Basketball | 1/5/2026 5:51:00 PM

Box Score

Canton, NY – Junior Braeden Burns scored a career-high 34 for the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team, but a scoreless stretch late in the second half did in the Golden Knights against St. Lawrence University on Monday afternoon, with the Green and Gold falling to the Saints, 71-59, at Burkman Gymnasium.

Clarkson saw its record dip below .500 at 5-6 overall and fell to 0-4 in the conference, while St. Lawrence pushed its mark to 4-7 and 2-2, ending a six-game losing streak. The Golden Knights are on the road this weekend when they take on Vassar College and Bard College.

The Knights had an early lead as the team was able to score both inside and out in the first seven minutes, capped by a Braeden Burns 3-pointer that made it 16-11 at 13:01. Clarkson added one more point to that lead with a Nate Abernethy free throw, but St. Lawrence got rolling on a Connor Parkes 3-pointer at 11:10, sparking a 12-0 run in a stretch of just over five minutes. Braeden Burns layup briefly halted the run, only to see another rush by the Saints made it 30-21, closed out by a 3-pointer from Tommy McMahon at 2:23. Burns hit three more layups down the stretch to help the Knights claw back to within eight at the break.

Burns did his part in the first half, scoring 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting, but the rest of the team was only a combined 3-for-16 for eight points in the opening 20 minutes.

That began to change at the start of the second half as Steve DeRegis heated up from the perimeter with a pair of 3-pointers, and the Knights eventually tied the game on a pair of free throws from DeRegis and then took the lead on a Burns lay in at 13:48. The contest seesawed back and forth for the next few minutes; however, a 9-0 run by the Saints turned a 50-50 contest into a 59-50 game with just under six minutes remaining.

Clarkson wouldn't allow the game to get away thanks to a Nate Abernethy layup-and-one at the 5:12 mark, drawing the Knights back to within five. Unfortunately for the Knights, though, the offense went silent for a stretch of four minutes, with only a layup from Burns breaking another St. Lawrence streak. Lorenzo Rappa hit a 3-pointer to pull Clarkson within eight with just over a minute to go, but the next few shots by the Knights were blocked and St. Lawrence was able to hit its free throws in the waning moments of the contest.

Burns finished with a career-best 34 points on 14-for-30 shooting while also adding in five rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes, pulling him to within one of 1000 points for his collegiate career. Steve DeRegis chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds and Nate Abernethy also had eight points and 10 boards. Lorenzo Rappa also added six rebounds and six assists for Clarkson.

For St. Lawrence, Dan Anderson produced 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting and Adam Dudzinski scored 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds for the Saints. St. Lawrence also did its job defensively, blocking 12 shots overall, led by Chris Downs, Jr.'s five denials.

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Players Mentioned

#24 Braeden Burns: F; 6' 4"; Junior

#5 Steve DeRegis: G; 6' 0"; Junior

#0 Lorenzo Rappa: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#21 Nate Abernethy: F; 6' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#24 Braeden Burns
: 6' 4"; Junior
: F

#5 Steve DeRegis
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

#0 Lorenzo Rappa
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: G

#21 Nate Abernethy
: 6' 6"; Freshman
: F