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POTSDAM — After a 71-61 win over SUNY Canton on Tuesday night, the Clarkson University men's basketball team improved to 2-0 under new coach Mark Gilbride.

The game at Clarkson's Alumni Gym wasn't always pretty.

Clarkson took a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes, then saw it vanish by early in the second half when SUNY Canton (0-3) tied the score 40-40.

But the Golden Knights hung on for the victory and right away the players noticed one of their favorite traits so far about their new coach.

"Coach Gilbride has come in real positive," said Clarkson senior Keith Murray. "It's a new environment for everyone. Even though we struggled a little today, he came in positive about the win and about the game itself."

This is the first head coaching job for Gilbride, who replaced Adam Stockwell after he took a position as head coach at SUNY Oswego after the end of last season.

Gilbride played and graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine, then spent three years as an assistant and recruiting coordinator there. He was an assistant at Stonehill College in Massachusetts and last season worked with Yale University's program.

"It's definitely been an adjustment," said Gilbride. "Instead of advising somebody else that final decision rests with you. But I'm enjoying it a lot. It's nice to have this group of guys to work with. That's been good.

"I think it's a great group of guys and they want to have a great season. Anything I do to help them they want, and they'll listen to and try to get better. That's what made it easy."

Gilbride comes from a coaching family. His father, Tim, has been the head coach at Bowdoin for the last 24 years, winning 337 games. His uncle, Kevin, is the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

And like any good coach, Gilbride is never satisfied but yet realizes perfection won't be attained.

"I imagine it will never get to the point where I want it to," Gilbride said, when asked how long it will take for Clarkson's players to learn his systems. "We'll keep striving to get a little bit better and hopefully that's good enough to win games. It never feels like it's quite good enough. You always want it to get better. I don't think there will be a point where we are satisfied."

Gilbride has achieved one of the toughest things for any coach, selling the players on the concept that what he's doing will work.

"We're still working out the kinks, getting used to stuff, but we're moving in the right direction," said senior Brandon Linton. "(Gilbride) is always ready to go, excited. He's relatively young, so he's not that far from when he was playing. He can relate well to us."

Elson Pickering led Clarkson in Tuesday's game with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Jonathan Hood added 13 points with 10 rebounds. Tony Valentin led the Kangaroos with 36 points.

MEN'S OUTLOOK

■ St. Lawrence University went 22-7 last year, including a 12-2 mark in the Liberty League and reached the third round of the NCAA Division III Tournament before finally losing 71-68 to Richard Stockton.

But the Saints lost their three leading scorers from that team. Massena native Garrett Sharlow, a sophomore guard, is the returning leading scorer. He averaged 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds last year. Former Norwood-Norfolk standout Josh Sharlow, a senior guard, averaged 10 points and had 159 assists last year.

■ SUNY Potsdam went 12-14 last year with a 9-7 mark in SUNYAC play. The Bears lost six seniors, including two all-SUNYAC players, to graduation.

Senior Anthony Williams is a leading returnee. He averaged 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds last year. Another key player will be former Ogdensburg Free Academy center Tom Kelso, a sophomore who averaged 7.6 points with 6.2 rebounds last year.

■ SUNY Canton had a tough time last year, with a 3-21 overall record and a 3-10 mark in Sunrise Conference competition. The Kangaroos leading player is senior guard and former Watertown High School player Tony Valentin. He averaged 19.8 points and 3.6 rebounds last year. Sophomore guard Deric Alston scored 7.7 points and averaged 11 rebounds.

WOMEN'S OUTLOOK

■ Clarkson was just 6-9 last year, but the team averaged more than 50 points a game for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Senior center/forward Michelle Reddinger, an All-Liberty League honorable mention player last season, is the leader. She averaged 13 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a year ago. Junior guard Lauren Pluchino average 8.8 points last season.

■ St. Lawrence went 19-8 a year ago and reached the NCAA Tournament, losing 71-55 to SUNY Cortland in the opening round.

The Saints lost leading scorer Katie Palmer (18.1 points) to graduation. The leading returnees are all guards. Junior Abby Stanton averaged 9.5 points with 5.6 rebounds. Senior and former Indian River standout Brittany Parham (7.4 points) and sophomore Katherin Edgerton (5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds) are the other key guards for the Saints.

■ SUNY Potsdam had a solid season a year ago, finishing 17-12 and reaching the SUNYAC Tournament championship game where it lost 57-51 to SUNY Brockport.

Senior Cortney Poirier, a former Brushton-Moira standout, was a first-team All-SUNYAC selection last year and averaged 16 points. She has 1,294 career points and should set the school record by the end of the year. She also was among the national leaders with 107 steals last year.

Senior Rachel Graf, who averages 10 points a game, is also the team's defensive stopper.

■ SUNY Canton was 10-15 last year, but 9-3 in the Sunrise Conference. The team is led by junior forward and OFA graduate Shannon LaFave (12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds), as well as sophomore guard and ex-Hammond standout Brittany Kenyon (9.1 points, 5 rebounds).