CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion men's basketball recovered from a 35-23 deficit to post a come-from-behind win against one of the conference's best as the Golden Eagles defeated Mercyhurst 67-62 at Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday.  Clarion outscored the Lakers 44-27 in the second half to improve to 12-12 overall, 9-9 in PSAC play.
 
Things weren't going well for the Golden Eagles after the first half of action, as they were shooting just 25.0 percent from the field and trailed by 12 points to the Lakers.  Clarion buckled down, however, outscoring the Lakers by 17 in the second half thanks in large part to a 14-4 advantage in points off turnovers in the last 20 minutes.  The Golden Eagles shot 54.2 percent from the field in the second half and held the Lakers to just a 29.6 field goal percentage while also outrebounding them 21-16.
 
Tim Gill was a force in the post all night, finishing with 22 points – including a 10-of-11 performance at the free throw line – in just 22 minutes of action.  Rob Agurs notched a double-double of 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Andre' Anthony notched 10 points and two steals.
 
The Lakers led 39-27 at the 17:58 mark of the second half but the Clarion comeback was swift and fierce, with the Golden Eagles embarking on an 18-2 run to take the advantage.  Gill scored on two and-one's in three possessions and also added two free throws to cut it to 39-38, and the big man added a shot in the paint with 13:55 left to put Clarion ahead 40-39.  He made some offense for his teammates as well, capping the rally by kicking out to Cameron Grumley off an offensive rebound; Grumley knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to make it a 45-41 edge.
 
Mercyhurst came back and took a 50-49 lead thanks to a free throw from Kayode Ajenifuja with 5:58 to play, but BJ Andrews made a pair of free throws to put the Golden Eagles ahead 57-53 and added a midrange jumper with 2:18 left to make it a six-point game.  The Lakers cut it to one point with 1.5 seconds remaining on a layup by Hi'an Hale, but Rob Agurs sunk a pair of free throws down the stretch to put it out of reach.
 
Clarion scored the first points of the game on two Anthony free throws but it would be the last time they led in the half.  Mercyhurst went on a 15-2 run to take a double-digit lead and held onto it for the remainder of the half.