CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team built an early lead but was unable to hold onto it, as Clarion lost to Gannon 73-62 in Tippin Gymnasium on Monday night.
 
Clarion held a three-possession lead late in the first half, after a strong run midway through the period. Jayson Harris drilled a three-pointer out of the first media timeout to make it 11-8, and then added another trey at the 14:16 mark to increase the lead to six points. Mekhi Reynolds gave the Golden Eagles an eight-point lead at the 11:31 mark, making a jumper in the paint.
 
The run reached its peak at the 5:20 mark, when Harris took a feed from Steve Kelly and laid it in to make it 29-22. Justice Easter increased that lead with a fast break make on the next possession, sinking one of two free throws after stealing the ball from Demetrius Mims and drawing contact from Thomas Whitley.
 
Gannon began to chip away at that lead, though, making it a 32-28 game with a jumper by Josh Omojafo, and pulling to within two points when Omojafo scored on the fast break on the next possession. Omojafo helped his team break through with a bucket on a third-straight possession, this time making a three-pointer with 54 seconds remaining to give the Golden Knights a 33-32 lead.
 
Gerald Jarmon hit a three-pointer on the opening possession of the second half to tie the score at 35, but the Golden Knights ripped off eight straight points to take a three-possession lead. Cam Kearney cut the deficit to 45-43 with an old-fashioned three-point play, scoring through a foul by Mims and making the subsequent free throw. Gannon rallied for a 17-4 run to take a 62-47 lead, but Clarion eventually chipped away and got it down to eight points on two free throws by Fray Nguimbi. Kearney got it back down to single digits with 47 seconds remaining but Gannon finished off their free throws down the stretch for the win.
 
Kearney finished with a team-high 16 points on 4-of-11 shooting, including a 7-of-9 performance at the charity stripe. He also recorded five rebounds. Jarmon totaled 13 points while Mekhi Reynolds contributed 11 points. Jayson Harris finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes of action, before fouling out.
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