CLARION, Pa. - The Mansfield Mountaineers men's basketball team (1-4, 0-1 PSAC) opened conference play with a 92-83 loss in Friday (Nov. 22) afternoon's cross-division match-up against the Clarion Golden Eagles (5-1, 1-0 PSAC).

LJ Stansbury led Mansfield with 15 points on 6-12 shooting.

Scott Woodring scored 14 points and was a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds and had two blocks.

Sterling Scott finished with 13 points and team-highs with seven rebounds and five assists.

Clarion took an early 15-10 lead in the first ten minutes as the Mountaineer offense looked to settle in. 

The Golden Eagles pushed their lead to ten before a 7-0 Mansfield run cut the deficit to 22-19 with just over 11 minutes to go in the first half. 

A 13-5 Clarion run swung the momentum back in favor of the Golden Eagles as they led by 11 at the under-eight media timeout.

The Mounties slashed the deficit to as little as four with four minutes to go in the first half and at the break Clarion held a 46-41 lead. 

Scott paced the Mansfield offense in the first half scoring a team-high 10 points and dishing out four assists. Stansbury added nine in the half. Each Woodring and Nasir Brown scored seven as the four combined for 35 of the team's 41 points. 

The Mountaineers once again got to within four at the 12:17 mark as they looked to find an extended run to draw even with the Golden Eagles.

The two sides traded baskets in the first ten minutes of the second half and as the game reached the under-eight media timeout, Mansfield trailed 70-63. 

With four minutes to go in the game, Clarion led 77-69 with possession looking to regain their double-digit advantage. 

With 30 seconds to go, the Mounties trailed 88-83 and forced a Clarion turnover to regain possession. Their three-point attempt wouldn't fall and they had to foul with 10 seconds to play. Clarion calmly stepped to the line and knocked down both to secure the victory.

The Mountaineers hung around but could not get any closer than four in the second half as they fell to the Golden Eagles on the road. 

UP NEXT:

The Mounties head to Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday, November 23 for the second game of their back-to-back to open conference play. Tip-off from the Sports Center is scheduled for 3 p.m.