CLARION, Pa. – Clarion regained its footing after a rocky first quarter but was unable to finish off a comeback effort, falling 63-51 to Pitt-Johnstown at the Student Recreation Center on Saturday afternoon.  The Golden Eagles (8-15, 2-14 PSAC) will return to action a week from today when they host Slippery Rock.
 
The Mountain Cats opened up a big lead in the first quarter but the Golden Eagles went basket-for-basket with them the rest of the way, cutting the lead to 10 points in the fourth quarter but getting no closer.  Clarion won the rebounding battle 40-37 and outscored Pitt-Johnstown off turnovers, but a difficult day shooting from three-point range put the result out of reach.
 
Kadijah Dickson scored a team-high 16 points while also pulling down six rebounds and dishing out three assists, and Emily Hegedus added another double-digit scoring day to her ledger with 11 points.  Yasmin Lewis tied for the game-high with 11 rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
 
The Mountain Cats came out of the gates shooting well, taking a 27-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The Golden Eagles chipped away at that advantage in the second, with Yndiah Bobo scoring with 42 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 12 points.  Taylor Moltz drilled a three-pointer on a kickout by Dickson with 30 seconds left, making it 38-29, but Alli McGrath scored with four seconds left to make it 41-29 at the break.
 
Pitt-Johnstown's lead stayed steady for most of the rest of the game, as Clarion pulled to as close as 10 points down but never got it back to single digits.  Moltz made a midrange jumper to cut it to 52-42 with 6:18 remaining, but the Mountain Cats pushed the lead back to 15 points with 1:44 left in regulation.