CLARION, Pa. --- It was a physical game from beginning to end as the Golden Eagle men's basketball team suffered their first conference loss of the season, falling 84-77 to East Stroudsburg at Tippin Gym on Monday afternoon.
 
Both teams worked to inflict a physical toll on the other, leading to a contest that was mostly even throughout. Clarion held the advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Warriors by a 36-33 margin, but East Stroudsburg outscored the Golden Eagles 25-14 in possessions off turnovers.
 
The Warriors led the game by as many as 12 points in the first half, but the Golden Eagles quickly rebounded and rallied to make the game close. In fact, Clarion erased that deficit – a 19-7 gap less than eight minutes into the game – and outscored East Stroudsburg 31-22 the rest of the half to make it a one-possession game at the break. The bulk of that run came near the end of the half after the Warriors took a 33-23 lead with 4:48 to go. Jahmari Hamilton-Brown finished off an and-one to cut it to 33-25, and Cam Kearney drilled a three-pointer from the left wing to make it 33-31.
 
Janye Stanley pulled the Golden Eagles to within a single point with 1:53 to go in the half, making a trey to make it 35-34, and Kearney scored with seven seconds left in the half to make it 41-38. That polished off a 15-8 run for Clarion to end the half and put the Golden Eagles in position to battle back.
 
Battle back they did. Clarion started off the second half on an 8-4 run, briefly taking a 46-45 lead after Justice Easter gathered an offensive rebound off his own miss and laid it in at the 16:15 mark. East Stroudsburg took the lead back but it remained a tight game the rest of the way, with the Golden Eagles coming within a possession of the lead several times down the stretch. One of the last such instances came with 9:20 left in regulation, after Gavin Cote hit a fast break three-pointer to make it 62-60.
 
That would be the closest the Golden Eagles cot the rest of the way, though the Warriors' lead never strayed much beyond two possessions. Jayson Harris made it a six-point game with 37 seconds remaining after drawing a foul on a three-point shot attempt, sinking all three to cut the lead to 81-75, but the Warriors held on for the win.
 
Three Golden Eagle players tied for the team-high with 13 points apiece –Kearney, Jeremy Thomas II and Hamilton-Brown. Easter had five points, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.
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