CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion men's basketball team closed out its 2017 portion of their schedule with a 74-59 home loss to Pitt-Johnstown Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss drops Clarion to 3-9 overall and 0-6 in the PSAC while Pitt-Johnstown improves to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.
 
Clarion kept it close for much of the first half, despite shooting just 35% from the floor.  Solid perimeter defense by the Golden Eagles held Pitt-Johnstown to just 4 of 13 from three point range in the first half.  Going into halftime Clarion trailed by just 3 points, 31-28.
 
A dunk by Johnstown's Josh Wise at the 13:52 mark of the second half extended the Mountain Cat lead to double-digits at 47-36 and they wouldn't look back from there.
 
On the day, Clarion shot 38% from the floor (21 of 55) while Pitt-Johnstown was 44%, converting 29 of 66 attempts.
 
The Mountain Cats also held a 43-33 advantage in rebounds.
 
Clarion was led offensively by senior Cameron Grumley with 18 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Zavyer Craft also had a strong game with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman Mason Mraz also chipped in 11 points while Maqi Watson added 6 points and 9 rebounds.
 
Pitt-Johnstown's Dale Clancy had a game-high 19 points to lead the Mountain Cats.
 
The Golden Eagles will turn the page to 2018 and look to start off the new year with a win when they host Cheyney University on January 3^rd. Tip-off is set for 7:30pm.