Box Score
CLARION – Bud Teer scored seven of his 15 points during a crucial 10-3 second-half run that help propel the Clarion University men's basketball team to a key midseason 71-66 win over visiting Mercyhurst Wednesday night at Tippin Gym.
With the game tied at 54 with 9:13 to play, Teer started the run with a layup, and back-to-back old-school three-point plays by Kromka and Teer gave Clarion (11-4, 7-2 PSAC West) an eight-point advantage, 62-54 with 6:29 left before a Teer layup put the Golden Eagles ahead 64-57 with 2:46 to play.
From there, Clarion sealed the victory by hitting seven free throws (7 of 12) in the final 1:49.
Teer added seven rebounds off the bench for the Golden Eagles, who were led by
Calvin Edwards' 16 points. Edwards was 10 of 13 from the free-throw line and also hit a pair of three-pointers.
Paul McQueen chipped in with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists with
Leonard Patterson, returning after a two-game absence because of an injury, adding 12 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Mike Kromka had a game-high 12 rebounds and added eight points.
Callon Dailey paced Mercyhurst with 18 points and four steals off the bench, while Bill Weaver had 16 points and eight rebounds.
Clarion led 35-29 at halftime thanks to a half-ending 11-3 run that included five points from McQueen and four from Edwards before going ahead eight, 43-35, three minutes into the second half.
Mercyhurst, through, responded with a 19-11 advantage over the next seven-plus minutes to tie the game at 54 on a Weaver layup with 9:33 to play.
Teer, though, took a pass from
Nathaniel Wilson and broke the tie 20 seconds later, and Kromka followed with a basket and a free-throw at 8:23 to make it 59-54. It was then Teer's turn for the three-point play at 6:29 helped by an Edwards' pass.
A Weaver free throw and a Steve Coleman jumper, the latter coming at the 3:14 mark, got the Lakers back to within five, 62-57, before Teer answered with an offensive rebound and layup off a missed
Paul McQueen shot with 2:46 to play.
Clarion returns to action when it hosts IUP at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
NOTES – Clarion has won 10 of 11 and sits a game back of IUP in PSAC West play in second place a game ahead of Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst, Gannon and Edinboro … Freshman guard
Winfield Willis was limited to four points but still passed Shamar Green (248 points in 2003) to move into ninth place in freshman scoring at Clarion since 1970. Willis has 250 points and is seven away from tying David Shearer (1999) and Mark Engram (1984) for seventh … Kromka, a sophomore, has 34 rebounds in his last three games including back-to-back double-digit rebound games for the first time in his career … Clarion held Gannon to 41 percent shooting for the game (25 of 61). It marked the fifth time in six games the Golden Eagles have held an opponent to under 45 percent shooting … Clarion shot 46.8 percent (22 of 47) from the field, the ninth time in the past 11 games it has shot at least 46 percent from the floor … The Golden Eagles improved to 7-2 on the season at Tippin Gym.
