CLARION, Pa. – Despite trailing by five, 28-23, at the half, Mercyhurst came out in the second to win their third straight game at Clarion, 69-63, Wednesday night. Damon Jones led the Lakers, scoring 13 points, grabbing five rebounds and adding two steals.

Despite outscoring Clarion in the paint (14-10), creating more second chance points (7-4) and producing more bench points (12-7), it was a tough first half for Mercyhurst, as they shot 28.6% (8-28) from the field and were just one of six from behind the arc (16.7%). Jones, James Ewing, and Andy Hoying each had two baskets to help keep pace with the Golden Eagles. Mercyhurst took a five point deficit into the break, 28-23.

The second half showed better signs for the Lakers, as began the period on a 10-2 spurt to take the lead, 33-30. It wasn't until the 12:23 mark when the Lakers began to pull away from the scrounging Golden Eagle press.

With the game tied at 39-39, Mercyhurst went on an 11-2 run to take their largest lead of the game (9). The stretch began when the Lakers created back-to-back Clarion turnovers that created easy fast-break layups on the other end for Callon Dailey and Jones. Jean Onana ended the run by nailing a three-pointer at the 6:08 mark.

The Golden Eagles would cut the Laker lead to two with 3:22 remaining, but three consecutive Dailey buckets put the game away for good, giving the Lakers an eight point lead with just 2:00 minutes to play.

Mercyhurst went on to outrebound Clarion, 36-28, with 16 offensive rebounds and outscored Clarion in the paint, 42-26.

With the win, the Lakers improve to 12-5 overall and 9-3 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. Clarion falls to 6-8 overall, 4-7 PSAC.

The Lakers will resume play Saturday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center when they take on Pitts-Johnstown. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.