ERIE, Pa. – The Clarion men's basketball team saw its 2016 PSAC Tournament run come to a close on the road on Tuesday, as the Golden Eagles ran into a red-hot Mercyhurst team in falling 84-68 at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.  The Golden Eagles finish the season with a 14-16 overall record, a four-win improvement over last year's squad, and with their first PSAC Tournament victory since the 2009-10 season.
 
The difference in the game was Mercyhurst's uncanny ability to make shots, especially early in the game; the Lakers went 13-of-20 from three-point range overall and 8-of-10 in the first half alone.  The Golden Eagles improved in the second half, outscoring the Lakers 42-33 in the last 20 minutes of action, but could not quite do enough to close the gap.
 
Rob Agurs had the team-highs with 19 points and eight rebounds in 39 minutes of action, while Andre' Anthony added 13 points.  B.J. Andrews scored nine points to go with five rebounds.
 
The Lakers opened the game on a 10-2 run, with Damon Jones providing six of those points on three-point attempts.  Anthony cut it to a two-possession game with a three as the shot clock wound down to one, and the senior guard drilled another from the same spot at the 15:50 mark to make it a 12-8 game.  The teams continued to trade long-range shots, with Anthony and H'ian Hale trading treys near the 16-minute mark.
 
Mercyhurst countered with a 7-0 run midway through the half, taking a double-digit lead as Ajenifuja dipped beneath a defender and scored on a layup to make it 23-12.  Justin Grant took a post feed from Agurs and converted it to a layup to make it 25-16 but the Lakers add three free throws from Jean Onana to put his team ahead by double-digits again.
 
The lead reached 19 points late in the half, but Gill cut it to 36-19 after a spin move in the paint and a layup.  Larry Johnson, Jr. cut it to 13 points when he stole a pass intended for Sean Beins and raced the length of the court for a fast break runner, and B.J. Andrews made it 38-26 when he drilled a contested three from the left wing.  The Lakers tacked on at the end of the half, though, and maintained a 51-26 lead at the break.
 
Clarion opened the second half on an 8-2 run, with Agurs capping the rally by banking in an off-balance runner at the 17:00 mark to make it 54-34.  The three-pointers continued to fall for the Lakers, though, who built the lead back to 25 points on a trey from Onana.  Grant pulled the Golden Eagles closer with a pair of free throws, and at the 12:00 mark he cut it to under 20 points with a jumper from the elbow.
 
Cameron Grumley scored four straight points, including a fast break layup at the 8:21 mark, to cut the Mercyhurst lead to 67-50.  Anthony scored on an old-fashioned three-point play with 5:21 left to make it 69-55, and De'Ondre Terrell tipped in an errant Gill shot to pull the Golden Eagles to within 12 points.  The Lakers responded, though, when Ajenifuja knocked down a jumper to make it 75-58 with 3:54 left. Mercyhurst kept them at arms' length the rest of the way en route to the win.