Jan. 20, 2010
Box Score
CALIFORNIA - Lloyd Harrison's 3-pointer from the top of the circle as time ran out gave Clarion a dramatic 79-76 win at California Wednesday night in PSAC-West play.
The final shot capped a Clarion comeback from a 13-point second-half deficit and improved the Golden Eagles to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in the PSAC-West.
"I wanted the ball," Lloyd Harrison said. "After they tied the game, I just knew that I wanted the ball. That is my first game-winning shot in college."
Harrison's 3-pointer came after Cal's Jerial Nixon hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to tie the game at 76. Clarion (10-6 overall, 2-1 PSAC-West) had called timeout before Nixon's second shot trying to ice the Vulcan to no avail. During that timeout, the Golden Eagles also discussed what they would do if Nixon made the shot.
"We knew we wanted to clear out for Lloyd," Clarion head coach Ron Righter said. "We had other options for him, but I knew he was going to take the shot. I thought he would drive the ball, but as the clock ticked down I knew he was going to have to take the jumper. But he can make that shot."
Clarion, which trailed 43-34 at halftime, was down 13, 47-34, 50 seconds into the second half before going on a 14-4 run to take its first lead of the game on two Lloyd Harrison free throws with 14:21 to play.
The Vulcans (12-6, 0-3) had the answer in the form of 9-3 spurt over the next two minutes to go back ahead by five, 60-55, before Clarion tied the contest at 61 on a Jamar Harrison basket with just over 11 minutes to play.
The Golden Eagles then regained the lead at 64-63 on a pair of Paul McQueen free throws with 9:18 left.
From that point on, the game went back and forth with the teams trading leads five times with four ties before the game-winning shot.
Shameel Carty led Clarion by tying a career high with 24 points on 7 of 12 shooting and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. He also had three rebounds and three steals. Lloyd Harrison added 21 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals and Jamar Harrison chipped in with 20 points and seven rebounds. Paul McQueen added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Andrew Young 16 points and six rebounds, Jerial Nixon had 12 points and Kelsey Williams and Ryne Niemiec each had 11 tallies.
Clarion returns to action at 3 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Slippery Rock, while Cal is at Edinboro at 3 p.m. Saturday.
NOTES - Harrison's buzzer beater was Clarion's first game-winning shot since Marcus Robinson hit a 35-footer at the horn to beat Kutztown 87-85 Jan. 4, 2009 ... The win broke a 6-game losing streak to Cal by the Golden Eagles and was Clarion's first at Hamer Hall since a 72-49 win Feb. 19, 2005 ... The Golden Eagles are off to their first 2-1 PSAC-West start since starting 2-1 in 2006 ... The game marked the second time this season Clarion had three players each score at least 20 points in a game. The other was the season opener against Penn St.-New Kensington when Carty and Brandyn Mungo each had 22 and Jamar Harrison had 21 ... The game marked the 14th time since 1989 that a Clarion-Cal game has been decided by three points or less. Clarion improved to 5-9 in those games ... Clarion outrebounded Cal 32-29 ... Clarion had 10 steals on the night, the 11th time this season the Golden Eagles, who rank third in the nation in steals per game (13.2), have had 10 or more steals in a game ... Clarion shot a season-best 85.7 percent (24 of 28) from the free-throw line ... The teams will rematch at Tippin Gym Feb. 10.
