CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle men's basketball team enjoyed an exciting return to Tippin Gymnasium on Tuesday evening, with Clarion topping Penn State – New Kensington 90-75 in the 2021-22 home opener. Clarion (3-0) had just a mediocre night shooting but enjoyed a dominant performance on the glass, fueling their double-digit victory over the Nittany Lions.
 
Two different Golden Eagles finished in double-digits in rebounds, with Mason Mraz hauling in 15 boards and Connor Ferrell pulling down 10 rebounds. Clarion cleaned up on the glass against the Nittany Lions, out-rebounding them 63-39. That led to a 16-7 advantage in second-chance opportunities and a 50-32 edge in points in the paint.
 
Gerald Jarmon was once again on fire from the field, shooting 11-of-20 for a game-high 27 points while also adding three steals. Ferrell posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards while Lawrence Lemon contributed 12 points and eight boards. It was a well-rounded effort, though, with 12 of the 14 Golden Eagles who saw the floor making a dent in the scorebook.
 
The outcome was never really in question as the Golden Eagles got off to an 18-5 lead in the first five minutes of action. Jarmon gave Clarion their first double-digit lead of the night with a three-pointer at the 16:11 mark, making it 16-5, and then added another bucket at 15:15 to push the lead to 13 points. Mason Mraz and Ron Davis III added transition layups midway through the first half to make it a 30-13 lead, and Jarmon made it a 20-point game with 5:13 left on a fast break make to up the score to 39-19.
 
The lead gave head coach Damian Pitts the opportunity to mix and match a number of quintets on the court, with a number of players making their Tippin Gym debuts. Mum Rattanawiwatpong scored the first points of his collegiate career at the 8:34 mark of the half, sinking a pair of free throws, and then scored on a pull-up jumper 30 seconds later to make it a 73-40 game. Dev Vaswani and Jaden Harper also saw significant time in the second half, with the later sinking a three-pointer from deep in the right corner late in the game.
 
The Nittany Lions did manage to chip away at the score, reducing it from more than 30 points to just 16 with 1:23 to go. Kaison Branch drew contact on a drive and sank a pair of free throws to steady the ship, and Harper's three-pointer at the 1:05 mark halted any momentum by Penn State – New Kensington the rest of the way.