EDINBORO, Pa. – The Golden Eagle men’s basketball team nearly erased a 14-point halftime deficit, but Clarion could not complete the comeback effort in falling 89-77 to Edinboro at McComb Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
The Fighting Scots built a substantial lead early in the game, but Clarion battled in the second half and pulled to within two points with just two minutes to play. That came on the heels of a 12-3 Golden Eagle run that started with 6:33 remaining in regulation, with Cam Kearney finishing off an and-one to make it 73-65. Gavin Cote and Jack Gallagher traded three-pointers, and Kearney made it a two-possession game with a midrange jumper at the 4:30 mark.
Justice Easter pulled Clarion to within four points with 3:20 left to go, scoring just before the media timeout to make it 76-72. Steve Kelly followed that up with a coast-to-coast bucket, pulling down a defensive rebound and taking it the length of the field for a layup, with the Fighting Scots’ two-touchdown lead now just two points.
From that point, though, Edinboro controlled the action, limiting Clarion to just three more points the rest of the way and scoring 13 themselves. That was enough to keep the Fighting Scots in front for the win.
Kearney led all players in the game with 19 points, going 7-of-15 from the field. Justice Easter had 14 points while Cote chipped in 12 points off the bench. Kelly had 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Edinboro jumped out to a quick double-digit lead, going up 14-3 after a putback by Daunte Wilcott. Kearney scored an and-one midway through the half to cut it to 18-10, and Traden Gray hit a three-pointer late in the half to pulls the Golden Eagles to within 32-28. The Fighting Scots closed the half on a 12-2 run, though, building a 44-30 lead at the halftime break. They went on to lead 51-34 early in the second half, and the lead was still a double-digit advantage after Ryan Ladjevich’s three-pointer made it 73-62 with 7:29 remaining.
That sparked the Golden Eagles’ late run, with Clarion outscoring Edinboro 12-3 to get back into the contest in the final few minutes.
Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.
