ERIE, Pa. – The Clarion men's basketball team had a difficult night offensively, and the Golden Eagles fell by a score of 71-56 to the Gannon Knights at the Hammermill Center on Wednesday.  Clarion falls to 11-12 overall and 8-9 in Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference play with the loss.
 
The first half of the game was a defensive battle with neither team shooting better than 40 percent from the field, though Clarion fell behind by three possessions at the halftime break.  Things opened up a bit in the second half but it was of no avail for the Golden Eagles, who were unable to make up ground on the Knights.
 
The offensive struggles left no one untouched, with no Golden Eagles reaching double-figures in scoring on the evening.  BJ Andrews came the closest, adding nine points, four rebounds and two steals.  Tim Gill had a solid night defensively, adding eight points and 10 rebounds, and RJ Laugand came off the bench for seven points and a steal in 18 minutes of action. 
 
Clarion got off to something of a quick start, with Andrews scoring on a fast break three-pointer to open the proceedings and De'Ondre Terrell making it 5-0 with a layup at the 18:00 mark.  The Knights responded with a 12-0 run to take a seven-point edge, but Justin Grant cut right back into that deficit with a three-pointer at the 13:06 mark.
 
It was still just a two-possession game late in the period, with Akeem Williams making it 22-18 on a layup and Justin Dobbs draining a three-pointer with 4:03 left to make it 25-21.  Gannon closed the period on a 9-3 run, though, and led by a score of 34-25 at the halftime break.
 
Things stayed in hand in the second half, with Gill cutting Gannon's lead to 36-29 on a layup with 16:23 left to go in regulation.  The lead reached double-digits for good with 11:54 left after a Matthew Dogan three-pointer, though, and the Knights finished the game with a 15-point edge in winning 71-56.