Box Score CLARION, Pa. – A late comeback attempt by Clarion against No. 7 IUP fell just a bit short, as the visiting Crimson Hawks knocked off the Golden Eagles 65-54 in PSAC West men's basketball action Saturday night at Tippin Gym.
 
Clarion trailed by 16, 37-21, at halftime and by 17, 60-43, with 7:28 to play but went on a 9-0 run fueled by four points from Mike Kromka to get within eight, 60-52, with 3:57 to play.
 
The Golden Eagles then had three 3-point tries – two by Marques Jones and one by Leonard Patterson – that would have cut the lead to five. But all three wouldn't go down.
 
IUP then got a free throw by Marcel Souberbielle with a minute to play to make it a nine-point game, 61-52, before a Kromka jumper cut the lead back to seven, 61-54, with 37 seconds left. But that was as close as the Golden Eagles got with IUP hitting four free throws in the final 37 seconds to ice the game.
 
Clarion (5-16 overall, 3-14 PSAC West) held IUP without a field goal in the game's final 7:29 but couldn't quite overcome the large deficit.
 
Kromka tied IUP's Scooter Renkin for game-high honors with 19 points. Kromka added eight rebounds and two assists, while Renkin had six helpers and two rebounds for the Crimson Hawks (18-3, 14-3).
 
Corey Bellovich, making his second straight start, tied his Clarion high with 14 points while Jones added seven and Anthony Baker five.
 
Mathis Keita chipped in 16 points and five rebounds for IUP with Anthony Wells also reaching double digits with 11.
 
IUP shot 50 percent (21 of 42) from the field compared to Clarion's 38.2 percent (21 of 55), and the Crimson Hawks were 17 of 20 from the charity stripe with Clarion going 9 of 11. But Clarion also forced 18 IUP turnovers, the most this season by a Golden Eagle opponent, scoring 17 points off those giveaways.
 
Clarion returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when it hosts Mercyhurst.
 
NOTES – Drew Vandermeer gave Clarion 15 solid minutes off the bench scoring two points to go with four rebounds, an assist and a steal. The four boards ties a Clarion career high for Vandermeer, the local Clarion High School product who transferred from Grove City prior to last season.