SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — The Clarion University men’s basketball team dropped a hard fought battle to Georgian Court 69-68 Saturday afternoon at its second game of the Wolf Bus Lines Classic at Shippensburg.(Photo: BJ Andrews)
With just under four minutes remaining, the Golden Eagles led 61-54 before the Lions ended the game on a 15-7 for the one-point victory.
Georgian Court (1-1) took advantage of five Clarion turnovers in the final 3:33 and converted it into nine points which turned out to be the difference in the ball game.
With 30 seconds to play, Juwuan Carter hit a layup to take a 67-65 lead. On the ensuing possession, BJ Andrews turned the ball over back to Georgian Court. After a foul, the Lions hit one of two foul shots to take a three point lead with 21 seconds left. Andrews drove down the court for a lay in but missed it with 11 seconds left and Georgian Court took over. The Lions hit one of two free throws to clinch the win.
The Golden Eagles had four players finish in double-figures. Andrews led Clarion in scoring with 17 points shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. Andrews scored nine of his 17 points in the final 5:44 of the game. Darius Stevens recorded a double-double for Clarion with 12 points and 12 rebounds while adding four assists. Brandon Williams added 11 points while Aaron Johnson also finished in double figures with 10.
In the first half, Clarion jumped out to a 17-5 lead with 11:17 left. The Lions cut the Golden Eagle lead to just four, 21-17 with 5:12 left in the half but Clarion responded with an 8-0 run to take an 11-point lead. The Golden Eagles led 34-26 at the half.
Clarion led by as many as 12, 51-39, in the second half with just over 10 minutes to play but Georgian Court responded with 13-0 run to take a 52-51 lead. The Golden Eagles responded with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 61-54 lead with 7:19 left.
Jordan Wejnert led the Lions with 23 points and nine rebounds. Carter finished with 19 points and chipped in with eight of Georgian Court’s 13 steals in the game. Carter had three steals in the final 3:32 of the game.
Clarion held the Lions to 39.3 percent from the floor while the Golden Eagles shot 45.8 percent. Both teams finished with 38 rebounds but the difference was in the turnover margin where Clarion finished with 18 to Georgian Court’s 15.
The Golden Eagles drop to 1-1 on the season and will return to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when they start PSAC West competition at Pitt-Johnstown.
By Jonathan Hooke
