CLARION, Pa. – Making a return to their home court for the first time in two games, the Clarion men's basketball team delivered a 79-70 victory over visiting Edinboro, Wednesday evening.

The Fighting Scots jumped out to an early five-point lead at 25-22 but the Golden Eagles used some heads up shooting and stellar offense to keep it close taking back the lead 38-36 heading into the halftime break. Elijah Cottrill paced the Clarion offense in the first half, scoring 14 of his 18 points.
 
The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as seven in the first half, but after three pointers from Jarrod Stukes and Jaiquil Johnson, the Golden Eagle offense started to find a rhythm and snatched all the momentum out of the gym. Clarion took the lead with just over a minute left in the first half after a Cottrill three in transition making the score 36-34 in favor of the Blue and Gold.
 
Godspower Ogide set the tone in the paint racking up three first half blocks, limiting the Fighting Scots to just 13-36 shots from inside the arc in the opening frame.

Clarion shot 52% from the floor in the first half, getting up and down the floor quickly, helping them withstand the back and forth battle with Edinboro.
 
A 7-0 run mid-way through the second half making it 55-48, helped Clarion ultimately take over the game and shift the momentum completely as the Golden Eagles wouldn't give the lead back to the Fighting Scots for the duration.
 
Edinboro remained within striking distance not trailing by more than six points for the rest of the match but Stevan Rodriguez would take over down the stretch securing the victory for good. With just over five minutes remaining in the game, Rodriguez scored 12 of the last 18 points proving unstoppable from the field and the charity stripe.

For the game, Clarion shot 47% from the floor, converting 29 of 62 attempts, including 14 of 19 from the free throw line.

Rodriguez led the Golden Eagles with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Cottrill finished the night with 18 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.

Aaron Hilzendeger finished the night with 18 points and four boards, while Ogide added nine points, six rebounds and a team-high three blocks.

Clarion will hit the road after a short home stint for a conference match-up against Pitt-Johnstown, February 15^th. Tip-off is set for 3 pm.