ERIE, Pa. --- A competitive first half saw the Golden Eagle men's basketball team limit turnovers, but #7/4 Gannon forced 17 second-half turnovers, leading to 34 points, to pull away for a 100-81 to end Clarion's three-game road trip.
 
Clarion shot 30-of-62 from the field for a 48.4 field goal percentage, and hit 38.1 percent of their three-point shots attempted on the day. Gavin Cote scored a season-high 24 points and also pulled down four rebounds. Cam Kearney added 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and five rebounds on the day. Jeremy Thomas II chipped in with 14 points and eight rebounds. Jahmari Hamilton Brown came off the bench, providing a defensive spark that included four blocks, eight rebounds, and six points in 23 minutes of play.
 
The first half saw the Golden Eagles and the Golden Knights trade punches throughout, with Gannon going on runs to stretch the lead and Clarion matching them. Clarion shot 14-of-34 from the field in the first half, including five from beyond the arc. Gavin Cote hit four of them himself, scoring 14 points in the half.
 
Kearney got off to a fast start on the day, scoring the Golden Eagles first four points and adding a steal that led to a Gavin Cote transition layup. Gannon went on a run to grab a double-digit lead early in the first half, but Clarion would not go away easily, with Thomas stealing the ball from Derrick James and throwing down an empathic dunk to cut the deficit to 22-17.
 
With 8:04 left in the first half, Cote splashed down a transition three, his third of the half, off a Thomas rebound and assist to cut the lead to just three points. Kearney, who finished with 11 points in the first half, closed the half with a jumper just before the buzzer sounded to bring the halftime score to 46-39.
 
After a couple of turnovers with the Gannon press, Cote hit his fourth three-pointer of the night off a Justice Easter assist to cut the deficit to 50-44. That was as close as the Golden Eagles got the rest of the way, though, as Gannon took control of the game with a 19-4 run that made it69-48. The Golden Knight lead went as as high as 24 points, but an and-one by Kearney with just over two minutes to play brought the deficit down to 95-79.
 
Clarion will be back home Wednesday night when they host Slippery Rock at 7:30 p.m. Read Full Article