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Text Box: NCAA DII MEN’S BASKETBALL PSU-McKeesport Lions (7-3) at Clarion Golden Eagles (4-5)

Text Box: 2005-06 CLARION SCHEDULE/ RECENT RESULTS DATE OPPONENT TIME/RES. 12/3 at Bloomsburg L 76-80 12/7 at Pitt-Johnstown L 59-60 12/9 vs. Concord L 86-89 12/10 at WVU Tech L 70-75 12/20 MILLERSVILLE W 53-51 12/21 CHEYNEY W 79-55 1/7 at Kutztown 3 p.m. 1/8 at West Chester 3 p.m. 1/11 SHIPPENSBURG* 8 p.m. 1/14 MANSFIELD 3 p.m. 1/15 E. STROUDSBURG 3 p.m.

Text Box: 2005-06 PSU-MCKEESPORT SCHEDULE/ RECENT RESULTS DATE OPPONENT TIME/RES. 11/22 PSU-DuBois W 71-53 11/26 at Edinboro L 62-93 11/29 at PSU-Beaver W 70-63 12/2 PSU-Abington W 73-68 12/3 PSU-Delaware W 79-72 12/6 at PSU-N. Kensington W 91-71 12/10 at Gannon L 72-59 1/7 at Fairmont St. 4 p.m. 1/13 at PSU-Mt. Alto 7 p.m. 1/14 at PSU-York 1 p.m. 1/21 at Penn College 3 p.m.

Text Box: ABOUT PSU-MCKEESPORT LIONS IN MIDST OF 7 GAME ROAD TRIP PSU-McKeesport is in the midst of a 7-game road trip that spans from early December until late January. The stop in Clarion is the third on the road with PSU going 1-1 so far with a win at PSU-New Kensington and a loss at Gannon. Fairmont St. (W. Va.) is up next Saturday. PSU’S 3 LOSSES HAVE COME TO DII SCHOOLS All three of the NCAA Division III Lions loses have come to NCAA D-II schools including two PSAC-West schools. PSU lost at California 92-44 in its season opener Nov. 16 then fell at Edinboro 93-62 Nov. 26 before losing at Gannon 72-59 Dec. 10 in its last game. RIVERS ONE OF TOP PLAYERS IN D-III Junior guard Anthony Rivers from Pittsburgh has to be considered one of the top players in Division III. He is averaging 26.8 ppg through 10 games while shooting 50 percent from the floor and an incredible 55.4 percent from 3-point range. His game hasn’t slipped any against DII opponents. He had 19 points, 6 rebounds in the loss to Cal, 26 points, 4 assists, 4 steals in the loss to Edinboro on 11 of 28 shooting and 20 points in the loss to Gannon.

Text Box: ABOUT CLARION EAGLES CONTINUE TO ROLL AT TIPPIN By starting the season 2-0 at home with wins over Millersville and Cheyney right before Christmas, Clarion continue to roll at Tippin Gym. The Golden Eagles have won 16 straight regular-season games at the “Tip” last losing a regular-season contest Feb. 18, 2004, 60-59 to Slippery Rock. Clarion did lose a PSAC Playoff game to Shippensburg 56-51 Mar. 1, 2005. HENDERSON PROVIDES LIFT The two games before Christmas saw the Clarion debut of Ricky Henderson (The b-ball player not the all-time leading MLB steals leader). Henderson, a transfer from Wayne CCC had an immediate impact for the Eagles averaging 15 ppg and 9 rpg in his first two contests. He hit the game-winning shot with 1.7 seconds to play on a tip-in of an offensive rebound in Clarion’s 53-51 win over Millersville Dec. 20 while scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He then added 17 points and 7 boards in just 22 minutes of action in the 79-55 win over Cheyney the next night. CLARION PREPARING FOR PSAC-WEST PLAY Clarion is getting ready for PSAC-West play which opens a week from night (Jan. 11) when Shippensburg comes to town for an 8 p.m. tip-off. Clarion is the defending PSAC-West champions having gone 8-4 last season in conference play. The Eagles have won three PSAC-West titles since 1997.

EAGLES-LIONS MEET FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR

This is the third straight season Clarion and PSU-McKeesport have met with the Golden Eagles winning the first two meeting (79-48 in 2003-04 and 74-53 last season). The game two years ago was close at halftime with Clarion leading 26-24 at the break before outscoring the Lions 46-24 in the second half.