CLARION, Pa. - The Clarion men's basketball team got off to a slow start and were unable to catch up, falling 66-54 at home to Malone University in a non-conference matchup, Wednesday night.

Clarion (1-6, 0-2 PSAC), playing their fourth of back to back to back to back home games, fell behind early and trailed the Pioneers at the half, 33-22.

Malone stepped up their defensive pressure tonight holding the Golden Eagles to just 54 points. They had been allowing an average of 74.2 before tonight's matchup. Clarion had been averaging 65 points per game on offense, but shot just 31% from the floor on Wednesday. 

The Golden Eagles shot better in the second half, where they went 13 for 39 (33%) including 5 of 8 from the charity stripe.

Clarion was led once again by sophomore guard Kaison Branch, who registered a game-high 19 points on 7 of 17 shooting, while also pulling down six rebounds. Elijah Cottrill had a strong showing as well, adding 13 points and three steals, while senior big man Stevan Rodriguez added 12 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
 
Mason Mraz made his return to the court after close to 22 months on the injury list, he added two points, two rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes of action.
 
The Pioneers were paced by sharp shooting lefty Jaret Majestic who knocked down 5 of 12 from the floor for 18 points, while grabbing three boards. Marcus Ernst and Sehill Mouliom each added double doubles with Ernst adding 11 points and 11 boards, while Mouliom contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds respectively.

Head Coach Damian Pitts and his squad will have a two day break before they are back in action.  They will hit the road and take on East Stroudsburg for a PSAC contest, Tip-off is slated for 3 pm.