Box Score CLARION – Winfield Willis and Bud Teer combined to score nine of Clarion's 13 overtime points, as the Golden Eagles defeated visiting Cheyney 78-71 Saturday afternoon for the 400^th win by the men's basketball team at Tippin Gym.
 
Clarion (8-3 overall, 5-1 PSAC West), winners of seven straight, trailed 68-67 following a three-pointer by Cheyney's Jerrod Johnson 54 seconds into overtime.
 
But the Golden Eagles, who are 400-166 in 43 seasons at Tippin Gym with 41 straight winning seasons, took control of the game at the 3:43 mark when Willis hit a driving layup, was fouled and Cheyney's bench was called for a technical foul. Calvin Edwards, who had 19 points for Clarion, hit both technical foul shots and Willis, who had a team-high 22 points, sank his free throw to complete a five-point sequence that put the Golden Eagles up 72-68.
 
On the ensuing Cheyney possession, the Wolves (2-7, 1-5 PSAC East) missed a shot and Jason Sabb was called for an intentional foul when he pushed Clarion's Leonard Patterson, who was going for the rebound. Patterson hit one of two free throws to finish a 6-0 Golden Eagle run that made the score 73-68 with 3:04 to play.
 
Cheyney got back within two on an old-school three-point by Rashaad Slappy, who had a game-high 24 points off the bench, with 2:11 left. But Clarion finished the game on a 5-0 run that included four points from Teer, who had his second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Willis was the hero in regulation for Clarion, as his three-pointer from the top of the circle with 57 seconds left forced overtime. The Golden Eagles had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but a long two from the top of the circle by Paul McQueen was just short.  
 
Clarion trailed by six, 56-50, with 8:56 to play in regulation but went on a 9-2 run that featured five points from McQueen, who had 11 points and seven rebounds, and four from Teer to take a 59-58 lead with 5:23 on the clock.
 
Cheyney had the answer in the form of a 6-1 run that included three points from Slappy and ended with a three-pointer from Brandon Baylor, who had 12 points including three three-pointers, with 2:08 left giving the Wolves a 64-60 lead.
 
The Golden Eagles fought back pulling within two on a pair of Willis free throws with 1:45 to play before Sabb, who finished with 11 tallies, hit one of two charity shots at the 1:15 mark setting up Willis' game-tying trey.
 
The turning point in regulation may have come in the final 2:03 of the first half when Clarion went on a 7-0 run to cut an 11-point deficit, 37-26, to four points, 37-33, at halftime. Mike Kromka scored four of his six points during the run, and Leonard Patterson, who had eight points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals, had three points.
 
Clarion carried the momentum gained late in the first half into the second half grabbing a 42-39 lead three minutes into the half on a Willis three-pointer.
 
The momentum then swung back to Cheyney, who used a 12-6 spurt to go back ahead by six, 54-48.
 
Clarion, which enters the holiday break in a three-way tie for first place in the PSAC West with Mercyhurst and IUP, is now off until 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 when it hosts Penn State-DuBois in a non-conference game. It will be Clarion County Night at Tippin Gym with admission being just $1.
 
NOTES – The first win ever at Tippin Gym came in the first game at Tippin, Dec. 4, 1968, 85-79 over Walsh. The late John Joy was the coach of the Golden Eagles that night … Clarion head coach Ron Righter has 234 of Clarion's 400 Tippin Gym wins going 234-96 at Tippin in his 24^th season as head coach … Clarion is now 153-87 in conference games at Tippin … The overtime win was Clarion's second this season. The Golden Eagles won 80-77 at West Chester Dec. 3 … It is the first overtime home win for Clarion since a 69-67 double-overtime victory over Bloomsburg Dec. 2, 2007. It was the first home overtime contest for Clarion since a 95-90 loss to Slippery Rock Feb. 22, 2009. Clarion had played six straight road overtime contests going 3-3 … Interestingly, considering its success in the building overall, Clarion is just 11-16 in overtime games at Tippin Gym but has won three of the last four overtime contests played at Tippin … It was the first overtime game between Clarion and Cheyney since a 64-61 Cheyney win at Clarion Dec. 19, 2006. Clarion had never beaten Cheyney in overtime until Saturday having lost the previous three overtime contests to the Wolves … Teer now has five double-doubles on the season and 18 in his two-year career at Clarion … 15 of Edwards' 19 points came in the first half, while 17 of Willis' 22 came in the second half and overtime … Clarion was 30 of 39 from the free-throw line while Cheyney was 15 of 20 … The Golden Eagles shot 44.7 percent from the floor and Cheyney was at 42.9 percent … Clarion outrebounded Cheyney 36-25.