Clarion U. Men and Women Swept by Mercyhurst


CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion men’s basketball team played Mercyhurst tight into the final minutes, but the Golden Eagles were unable to finish off the Lakers in falling 62-57 on Saturday afternoon.

(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)

The Golden Eagles (4-8, 2-6 PSAC) will be back in action on Wednesday when they go on the road to face Slippery Rock.

Khari Williams had team-highs with 18 points and eight rebounds in 37 minutes of action as Clarion nearly erased a second-half deficit for the second time in as many games. Elijah Cottrill finished with 12 points, six boards and a game-high four assists, while Javontay Pipkin scored 10 points.

The Lakers won the rebound battle 37-34 and took 22 more shots than the Golden Eagles, thanks in part to forcing 10 more turnovers (16-6) and pulling down 15 offensive rebounds. The Golden Eagles outscored Mercyhurst at the free throw line by going 15-of-23, while the Lakers went just 9-of-20.

The game was a tight one as the lead changed nine different times and the score was tied another 11 times, as neither team separated from the other for long. Mercyhurst went up 45-40 early in the second half but Clarion responded with a 6-0 run, with Cottrill capping the rally with a fast break layup at the 14:52 mark to put the Golden Eagles ahead. Pipkin made a bucket in the paint to make it 50-48 with 9:52 left, and Williams put Clarion ahead for the last time with a three-pointer at the 6:18 mark that made it 55-54. The Lakers finished the game on an 8-3 run, taking the 62-57 victory.

Mercyhurst looked to be in control of the game through the first half, taking an 11-point lead at the 5:30 mark. Williams responded with a three-pointer to stop the bleeding, and from there it was the Golden Eagles who were in the driver’s seat. Pipkin and Williams sank six consecutive free throws to cut the lead to just 26-24, and RJ Laugand eventually tied it at 31 with a bucket in the paint. Jonathan Williams kept it knotted up with a make at the 1:13 mark, and the Lakers led only by three points at the halftime break.

WOMEN COME UP SHORT

CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball cut a seven-point deficit to just a single bucket late in the fourth quarter, but the Golden Eagles ultimately fell 62-60 to Mercyhurst at the Student Recreation Center on Saturday. The Golden Eagles (7-8, 1-7 PSAC) will be back in action on Wednesday when they go on the road to face Slippery Rock.

Yasmin Lewis scored a team- and career-high 21 points while also pulling down a game-high eight rebounds, with the sophomore guard shooting 10-of-16 from the field in 36 minutes of action. Yndiah Bobo finished with 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Kadijah Dickson posted 12 points.

The Golden Eagles won the rebounding battle 36-32 and outscored the Lakers 17-12 off turnovers. However, the Lakers got 50 total points from their bench, including a game-high 22 from Amber Renz, and shot 5-of-13 from three-point range.

Clarion nearly erased a three-score deficit in the fourth quarter, cutting Mercyhurst’s edge to two points on a number of occasions but never getting over the edge. Lewis hit a jumper in the paint to make it 50-45 with 6:42 remaining in regulation, and scored on a putback at the 4:23 mark to make it 55-53. The Lakers stretched the lead back out to six points, but Dickson responded with a make and Bobo scored a transition bucket to cut it to 59-57.

The deficit stayed within hand for the rest of the game, with Lewis making a free throw to cut it to 61-58 with 16 seconds left. Dickson scored in a tip-in in the final seconds but it was not enough as the Lakers held on for the 62-60 win.

The Golden Eagles used a 12-0 run to take an early edge in the first quarter, with Bobo finishing off an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 16-9. Lewis finished the quarter with a bucket in the paint, making it 18-13 at the end of the first quarter. The teams went back and forth in the second as the Lakers cut into the lead, with Lauren Lapertosa putting Mercyhurst up 31-29 at the break.

The third quarter played out much like the second, with Clarion building a six-point lead before the Lakers counterpunched. Lewis made it 41-35 with a jumper at the 3:29 mark, but the Lakers outscored the Golden Eagles 10-2 the rest of the way to take a two-point lead at the end of the period.


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