CLARION, Pa. --- What started out as a back and forth battle in the first half turned into an emotional rollercoaster in the second half as the Golden Eagle men's basketball team dropped a close home contest to Seton Hill, falling 80-73 in Tippin Gym.
 
In a matchup that pitted the Golden Eagles' formidable offense against a stout Griffin defense, the two teams traded blows in a first half that never saw anything greater than a seven-point differential at any time. Seton Hill led by a 27-20 score with 5:08 left to go in the first quarter, after a three-pointer from Ryan Meis, but Gavin Cote matched him with a trey of his own on the subsequent Clarion possession, and Jahmari Hamilton-Brown drilled a fast break trey off a drop pass from Steve Kelly to make it 29-26.
 
The Golden Eagle rally continued on the next possession as well, this time with Kelly hitting Jayson Harris for a pass that the latter converted into a three-point make. That punctuated a 9-2 run and tied the score at 29, though the Griffins were able to re-establish a four-point lead before the halftime break.
 
Things loosened up in the second half, with Seton Hill shooting 45.2 percent from the field and the Golden Eagles a sizzling 57.1 percent. The difference, though, was the turnover battle; Clarion committed eight turnovers in the second half while the Griffins gave the ball away just five times, and for the game Seton Hill outscored Clarion 19-12 in points off turnovers. Kelly scored the first points of the half with a three-pointer that cut the deficit to 38-37, but Seton Hill went on a 12-2 run to build up a 50-39 advantage.
 
It was still a double-digit deficit with 1:39 remaining, but the Golden Eagles were not prepared to go down without a fight. Kelly hit a midrange jumper from the elbow with 32 seconds left to make it 76-68, and on their next trip down the floor Cam Kearney scored to make it a two-possession game with 17 seconds left. The Golden Eagles attempted to trap the Griffins in the back court but were forced to foul, and Meis made the subsequent free throws to make it 78-70. Jeremy Thomas II finished off an old-fashioned three-point play with seven seconds left to pull his team within five but Clarion got no closer.
 
The balanced Golden Eagle scoring attack was led by Harris, who went on a tear midway through the second half and finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. Thomas finished just one rebound shy of a double-double, posting 10 points and nine rebounds, while Cote (12 points) and Hamilton-Brown (11 points) also cracked double figures.