Boxscore

CLARION, Pa. – Behind four starters in double-figures, Clarion completed the come-from-behind victory over Mercyhurst for a 76-69 win in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Quarterfinals. 
 
The Golden Eagles received a game-high 21 points from Shameel Carty , and the Lakers Jeremiah Wise led Mercyhurst (18-10) with 20 points. 

Clarion (18-10) advances to the PSAC semifinals while Mercyhurst's run in the postseason for the first time since 2007-08 comes to a close. 

The Golden Eagles shot 50 percent from the field, knocking down 28-of-56 attempts, including just 1-of-7 from behind the arc. In comparison, the Lakers finished shooting at a 40 percent clip (24-for-60), with success from 3-point range early as they hit 7-of-13 in the first half but ended just 1-of-9 in the final stanza.
 
Clarion 's strong inside presence contributed to the Golden Eagles healthy advantage from inside the paint, outscoring the Lakers 50-28, and helped them to a 19-of-25 performance from the charity stripe. 

Both teams turned the ball over in a frenzied game that featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes, with perhaps the most pivotal pair of lead changes coming late in the second half. 

With Clarion leading by one, 53-52, the Lakers rallied for a 10-2 run thanks to an old-fashioned 3-point play from Heiden Ratner to start the stretch. After Ratner's lay-up and free throw, the Lakers almost benefited from another old-fashioned play as Jason Snow converted his fast-break lay-up after a steal but not could connect on the ensuing free throw. Ratner added another lay-up before Jordan Armstrong's layup with 4:45 remaining gave the Lakers their largest lead of the game. 

With momentum seemingly swinging in the Lakers' favor in front of a raucous home crowd, the Golden Eagles muscled back to take the lead at 65-64 with 2:09 remaining. The run was fueled by four points from McCarty and back-to-back layups by Paul McQueen for the advantage. 

From there, McCarty hit 1-of-2 free throws and Jamar Harrison added a layup for 68-64 advantage with 1:21 remaining. The Golden Eagles would hit 6-of-6 free throw in the final 32 seconds to seal the victory as the Lakers five-point rally in the final 13 seconds cut the deficit to the final score. 

In the first half, the Lakers came out firing as Wise hit three consecutive 3-pointers to give Mercyhurst a 9-4 lead just over three minutes into the came.

From there, neither team would lead by more than three points until Christian Cornelius sank both ends of his free throws to give the Lakers a 20-16 advantage with 11 minutes left to play.  

The teams would trade leads three more times before the Golden Eagles took a 29-28 lead with 5:33 remaining.  That would hold until Wise's 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in the opening frame gave Mercyhurst a slim 37-36 before Clarion regained the lead on Lloyd Harrison's layup with six seconds left.