CLARION, Pa. - The Clarion men's basketball team opened the 2019-20 season at the Glenville State Tip-Off Classic taking on Fayetteville State in the opening night of action. The Golden Eagles got off to a slow start and were unable to catch up, falling 78-63.  

Clarion now 0-1 overall, close the tournament tomorrow evening when they take on host Glenville State. The Golden Eagles fell behind early and trailed the Broncos at the half, 39-24.

Fayetteville State who allowed 75 points per game on average last season held the Blue and Gold offense in check all night despite Clarion shooting 45.1% from the field the entire game.
Clarion who averaged just above 66 points per game last season shot 40.9% from the field in the first half and 48.3 in the second.

A solid improvement from the first half the Golden Eagles went 14 for 29 including 8 of 14 from beyond the arc.

Clarion was led by redshirt-freshman Kaison Branch, who registered a game-high 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting, while also pulling down four rebounds. Stevan Rodriguez had a strong showing as well adding 17 points and six rebounds, while freshman Aaron Hilzendeger added 14 points and eight rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
 
The Broncos were paced by guard Raymon Pratt who knocked down 10 of 18 from the floor for 21 points, while grabbing nine boards.
 
On the evening Clarion shot 12 of 25 (48%) from beyond the arc and 5 of 8 from the charity stripe.

Head Coach Damian Pitts and his squad will be back in action tomorrow at 5 pm to close the tournament. They will then travel to Davis and Elkins on Saturday, November 16^th for a non-conference matchup against the Senators. Tip-off is slated for 4 pm.