CLARION, Pa. - Freshman Justice Smith scored 27 points, dished out seven assists and plucked six steals to lead the Mansfield University men's basketball team who fell to Clarion University, 112-79 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East-West crossover action on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 19.
 
Smith knocked down double-digit field goals, finishing 10-of-21 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Freshmen Scott Woodring (eight points) and Manir Waller (six points) each pulled in eight rebounds, while senior Eli Alvin finished second on the team in scoring with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting (5-of-10 from three).
 
Clarion (6-4, 2-2 PSAC) nearly shot 60 percent from the floor (45-of-76), while knocking down 12 trifectas and 10-of-17 shots at the line.
 
Clarion was also able to win the battle in the paint (58-40), while leading the Mounties (1-10, 0-5 PSAC) 19-11 in second-chance points.
 
Clarion shot 50 percent (20-of-40) from the floor in the first half and 69 percent (25-of-36) in the second half, while never trailing on their way to victory.
 
The Mounties nearly matched the Golden Eagles' shooting efforts in the first half, knocking down 18-of-37 shots from the floor, while converting all five of their shots at the line to head into the break trailing 53-45.
 
Trailing by eight heading out of the break, the Mounties surrendered a 19-6 run over the opening seven minutes as the hot-shooting Golden Eagles extended their lead to 72-51 with 13:13 to go.
 
Smith halted the run with a jumper at the 12:55 mark, but Clarion responded with a 9-0 run over the ensuing three minutes to lead by 26 and ultimately put the game out of reach.
 
For Clarion, Gerald Jarmon scored a team high 22 points, while pulling in seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. Connor Ferrell added 19 points and pulled in five rebounds, while Lawrence Lemon finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double.  
 
The Mounties are off until after the New Year where they will kick things off by hosting East Stroudsburg University in PSAC East action at 7:30 p.m. inside Decker Gymnasium.