CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion men's basketball team faced its toughest test of the young season on Saturday, falling by a score of 111-73 to East Stroudsburg at Tippin Gymnasium.  The Golden Eagles (2-2, 0-1 PSAC) will try to rebound tomorrow when they host West Chester.
 
Both teams suffered from huge amounts of turnovers, with Clarion committing 28 giveaways and the Warriors 21 turnovers.  East Stroudsburg was able to convert those Golden Eagle mistakes, though, outscoring Clarion 39-13 in points off turnovers.   The Warriors also shot lights-out from beyond the three-point line, going 16-of-35.
 
Kuante' Sargent had a team-high 13 points, followed by Khari Williams, who had 12 points and five steals.  Israel Atkins came off the bench to grab a team-high seven rebounds, while Zavyer Craft added 11 points in relief.
 
East Stroudsburg opened the game on a 9-2 run but the Golden Eagles settled down and began to claw their way back.  Kuante' Sargent threw down a tip dunk at the 15:50 mark to cut the lead to 10-6 and Maqi Watson sank a free throw less than a minute later to pull Clarion to within one possession.  The Warriors countered though, with Ralik Wise scoring in the paint on ESU's next trip down the floor, and Marc Rodriguez buried a three-pointer with 14:05 left to make it 15-7.
 
The lead quickly increased to the high double-digits but Clarion responded again late, cutting it to 37-25 on a make by Craft.  Cameron Grumley made two free throws with 3:25 left to slide the deficit to 10 points, but the Warriors closed out the first half on a 15-2 run to set the halftime deficit at 54-31.
 
Williams opened the second half with a jumper to make it just a 21-point game, and Grumley scored a bucket at the 17:22 mark to make it just 56-35, but from there East Stroudsburg took full control.  They continued to shoot well from beyond the arc as the lead eventually reached its acme of 44 points.