JOHNSTOWN, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the PSAC West division on the road, but Clarion could not hold on to a second-half lead in falling 85-75 to Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday.
 
Clarion opened up a first half lead and made it stick for a good portion of the second half, but the Mountain Cats chipped away ­­and took the advantage with five minutes remaining in regulation. Pitt-Johnstown built a modest lead from that point but was able to make it stick down the stretch, outscoring the Golden Eagles to take a double-digit lead that was not as definitive as the score suggested.
 
Steve Kelly scored a career-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including a sterling 5-of-7 performance from three-point range. The junior guard also dished out four assists. Freshman Cam Kearney was also effective on Saturday, scoring 17 points and recording the team-highs with eight rebounds and six assists. Kearney's freshmen classmates Justice Easter (11 points) and Fray Nguimbi (10 points) also cracked double-digits in scoring.
 
The Golden Eagles stunned the Mountain Cats in the opening minutes of play, taking a 7-3 lead in a run to start action. Nguimbi drained a three-pointer at the 17:36 mark to make it 5-0, and Kearney sank a pair of free throws on the next trip down the floor to keep it a two-possession game. Justice Easter upped the lead to 13-7 at the 12:20 mark, scoring on a fast break dunk, and Jaylen Shippen pushed the lead into double-digits with a three-pointer at exactly the halfway point of the first half.
 
Pitt-Johnstown drilled the lead down to one point with a 9-0 run, but Clarion responded with a 6-0 run of their own that was capped by a trey from Easter at the 6:14 mark. Kelly potted a three-pointer of his own at the 1:48 mark to make it 35-28, and then added another before the end of the first half as Clarion took a 38-30 lead into the break.
 
That advantage broke down as the second half went on, though the Golden Eagles still held a 70-69 lead with 5:16 remaining. John Paul Kromka scored with just under five minutes remaining to give the Mountain Cats the advantage, and their lead grew to seven points with 2:45 remaining. Kearney finished off an old-fashioned three-point play at the 1:53 mark to cut the deficit to four points but Clarion got no closer as Pitt-Johnstown controlled the stretch run.
  Read Full Article