ERIE, Pa. – Despite forcing Gannon into a season-high 25 turnovers, the third time this season a Clarion opponent has had at least 25 turnovers, the Golden Eagles men's basketball team dropped a 68-54 decision to the homestanding Golden Knights Wednesday night in Erie.
 
A cold shooting night hurt Clarion, which hit just 37.8 percent (17 of 45) of its shots on the night including just 4 of 19 from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles also had a tough night from the free-throw line going 16 of 27.
 
Darius Stevens led Clarion with 19 points, while Kyheim Hall chipped in 12 to go with seven rebounds and three steals.  Six additional Golden Eagles also reached the scoreboard with BJ Andrews leading that group with six points.
 
Girbran Smith paced all scorers with 21 points for Gannon, which shot 51 percent (26 of 51) including 14 of 26 in the second half. Adam Blazek added 15 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals, and Jean Yves Toupane and Tony Boykins each had 10 tallies. A'Darius Porter had a monster night on the boards with 16 rebounds including eight offensive rebounds.
 
Porter helped Gannon own the boards outrebounding Clarion 41-22.
 
Clarion, which trailed from the start, was down by just five, 29-24, after a bucket by Kyheim Hall with just over 12 seconds to play in the half. But Blazek drilled a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the half to put the Gannon lead at eight, 32-24, at halftime.
 
The Golden Knights then increased the lead to double digits early in the second half and kept it between 10 and 15 the rest of the game.
 
Clarion returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when it hosts California (Pa.) in a PSAC West matchup.
 
NOTES – Clarion had nine steals in the game after entering the contest averaging just over 14 per game, the second-best mark in the country … Gannon's 25 turnovers are the third most forced by Clarion in five games this season and were easily the most by the Golden Knigths, who entered the contest averaging 15 turnovers per game.