CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion men’s basketball team faced its toughest test of the young season on Saturday, falling by a score of 111-73 to East Stroudsburg at Tippin Gymnasium.
(Photo of Khari Williams. Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The Golden Eagles (2-2, 0-1 PSAC) will try to rebound tomorrow when they host West Chester.
Both teams suffered from huge amounts of turnovers, with Clarion committing 28 giveaways and the Warriors 21 turnovers. East Stroudsburg was able to convert those Golden Eagle mistakes, though, outscoring Clarion 39-13 in points off turnovers. The Warriors also shot lights-out from beyond the three-point line, going 16-of-35.
Kuante’ Sargent had a team-high 13 points, followed by Khari Williams, who had 12 points and five steals. Israel Atkins came off the bench to grab a team-high seven rebounds, while Zavyer Craft added 11 points in relief.
East Stroudsburg opened the game on a 9-2 run but the Golden Eagles settled down and began to claw their way back. Kuante’ Sargent threw down a tip dunk at the 15:50 mark to cut the lead to 10-6 and Maqi Watson sank a free throw less than a minute later to pull Clarion to within one possession. The Warriors countered though, with Ralik Wise scoring in the paint on ESU’s next trip down the floor, and Marc Rodriguez buried a three-pointer with 14:05 left to make it 15-7.
The lead quickly increased to the high double-digits but Clarion responded again late, cutting it to 37-25 on a make by Craft. Cameron Grumley made two free throws with 3:25 left to slide the deficit to 10 points, but the Warriors closed out the first half on a 15-2 run to set the halftime deficit at 54-31.
Williams opened the second half with a jumper to make it just a 21-point game, and Grumley scored a bucket at the 17:22 mark to make it just 56-35, but from there East Stroudsburg took full control. They continued to shoot well from beyond the arc as the lead eventually reached its acme of 44 points.
GOLDEN EAGLE WOMEN NO MATCH FOR WARRIORS
CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team fell to the predicted top team in the PSAC East, opening conference play with a 94-74 loss to East Stroudsburg at Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday. The Golden Eagles (2-2, 0-1 PSAC) will continue crossover play tomorrow afternoon when they host West Chester.
The Warriors were predicted to finish first in the PSAC East division in 2017-18 but the Golden Eagles gave them a good fight throughout, continuing to keep the pressure on even late in the fourth quarter. It was just an 11-point lead for East Stroudsburg after the first half but the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter, putting things out of reach for Clarion.
Amesha Harden-Pullium tied for the game-high with 24 points, getting there on 9-of-22 shooting and 4-of-10 from three-point range. Tracy Wiehe was just behind her with 23 points, and she came up just one rebound shy of her third double-double in four games, finishing with nine. Yndiah Bobo came off the bench to produce 11 points in 33 minutes of action.
A slow start offensively plagued the Golden Eagles, who did not get on the scoreboard until more than three minutes passed in the first quarter and Wiehe scored on a hook shot in the paint. The Warriors’ lead went as high as 10 points in the opening period but Clarion stabilized by the end of the first, pulling to within 21-17 on another make by Wiehe with 37 seconds remaining.
East Stroudsburg kept up the pressure, though, and eventually took a double-digit lead for good in the second quarter. Harden-Pullium nailed a three-pointer with 1:10 left in the half to cut it to 45-34, and Wiehe scored as time expired to keep the game within 11 points after 20 minutes of action.
A spate of offensive action from the Golden Eagles in the third quarter began to put pressure on East Stroudsburg, with Yasmin Lewis scoring on a putback with 7:15 left in the quarter to make it 54-43. Harden-Pullium made it a single-digit advantage on the next possession, pulling down a defensive rebound and scoring on a coast-to-coast break to make it just 54-45.
After Wiehe sank a pair of free throws to make it a seven-point game the Warriors pulled away with a 13-0 run to make it 67-47. The lead never again dipped below 10 points as East Stroudsburg held on the for win.
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