CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team rallied from a deficit to briefly re-take the lead, but Clarion could not finish off the rally in falling 82-75 to West Chester in Tippin Gymnasium.
 
At one point late in the second half Clarion rallied to take a lead, capping a second-half run with a fast break three-pointer from Gerald Jarmon. Mekhi Reynolds left the ball on a drop pass to Jarmon, who buried a trey at the 13:44 mark to knot the game up at 53 points. The duo pulled a similar trick two possessions later, with Jarmon this time giving his team a 56-55 advantage. Steve Kelly added a free throw at the 12:04 mark to make it a two-point game but Jamil Manigo finished off an and-one to put his team back ahead 58-57.
 
The two teams sparred down the stretch, with the Golden Rams leading by as many as eight points and Clarion pulling back to within three points with just 3:53 to go in the action. It was still just a four-point game with 50 seconds left after Cam Kearney scored on the fast break, and Reynolds cut it to 80-75 with a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining. That would be the extent of it, though, as West Chester finished off the win.
 
Reynolds scored a team-high 21 points primarily on the back of a 5-of-8 performance from three-point range. That total included several shots from very long range, shocking the Golden Ram defense. Jarmon finished with 19 points, while Kearney added 16 points, four rebounds and two assists. Fray Nguimbi had a team-high seven rebounds, while Justice Easter posted 10 points, five boards and two steals.
 
The first half turned out to be a highly competitive period, despite the fact the Golden Rams scored eight straight points to start the game. Kearney hit a trey at the 15:16 mark to cut that lead to 11-6 before the Golden Rams scored eight straight to make it 19-6. That tide started to go the other way right after that, though, starting with a Jarmon three-pointer that cut the lead to 20-13. Reynolds hit a long three near the halfway point of the half to make it 20-16, and Jarmon eventually cut the lead to one possession at 37-32 with a midrange jumper.
 
Nguimbi kept the momentum going with a dunk at the 2:02 mark, making it 39-34, and Jarmon added a late jumper with six seconds left in the first half to keep the Golden Eagles within 43-39 at the break.
  Read Full Article