Clarion Athletics

CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team gritted out a win to close out this weekend's home classic, holding on for a 79-72 win over Frostburg State at Tippin Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. Clarion built an early lead but had to come back from a late two-possession deficit to take down the Bobcats.
 
Frostburg State led 65-61 with 6:29 left in the second half, but what followed was an 18-7 Golden Eagle rally that erased the deficit and put Clarion ahead by multiple possessions. Traden Gray scored a bucket at the 6:03 mark to get things rolling, and point guard Steve Kelly tied the game at 65 with a driving layup at the 4:44 mark. With 2:50 left to go in regulation Jayson Harris put the Golden Eagles on top with a make in the paint, and Kelly gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good with two free throw makes with 2:26 to play.
 
The senior sparked an emotional rally for the Golden Eagles in the next minute of action, pulling down a defensive board on the Bobcats' next possession and dishing ahead to Justice Easter for a fast break dunk that made it 73-69. Kelly got Cam Kearney involved in the run at the 1:27 mark, capping the 14-4 rally with a pass that Kearney laid in for a bucket to make it 75-69.
 
The Bobcats cut the deficit down to three points when Robbie Williams made three free throws after being fouled by Easter. Harris scored on the ensuing possession with a turnaround jump shot, and Jeremy Thomas II helped quash Frostburg State's next possession by blocking a shot into the bleachers with 39 seconds to go. The game got no closer as the Golden Eagles extended their lead for the win.
 
Harris and Kearney each finished with 19 points, with the former shooting 7-of-12 from the field and the latter 6-of-13, though Kearney was 6-of-10 from the free throw line. Thomas came up just one rebound shy of his second double-double in as many games, posting 11 points and nine rebounds, while Kelley notched 15 points.
 
Similar to Friday night's opening game against Bluefield State, the first half played out as a back-and-forth battle early on. Clarion took a quick 5-0 lead after a three-pointer from Justice Easter but Frostburg State quickly erased that, and the teams were all knotted up at 23 with under 10 minutes to play in the half. The Bobcats built a 29-25 lead after a tip-in by Logan Lewis but the Golden Eagles outscored them 9-0 over the next two minutes, including a thunderous transition dunk from Harris to put Clarion ahead.
 
The Golden Eagles ultimately carried the lead into the halftime break thanks to a 7-2 run in the final two minutes, starting with yet another fast break dunk, this one a one-handed slam from Kearney. Kearney added another bucket with 53 seconds remaining in the half, and Jihad Simpson scored on a putback before the buzzer to make it 44-39.
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