CLARION, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team dropped their second straight game as they fell to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent Clarion University 90-80 on Tuesday night.
 
The Tomcats raced out to a 23-12 lead over the Golden Eagles to start the first half. The 11-point lead would be Thiel's largest of the game as Clarion narrowed the lead to just three with 7:18 remaining in the half.
 
Clarion then took the a 28-26 lead at the 4:30 mark as Jonathan Williams scored a lay-up off a Tomcat turnover. From that point Thiel never regained the lead. At the end of the first half Clarion led by just six, 36-30.
 
The Golden Eagles ran out to a 13-point lead early in the second half before Thiel cut the lead back down to six, 67-73 as Daquan Simmons (Capitol Heights, Md./Central) hit a three pointer with 3:36 remaining in the game. The Tomcats were unable to claw back in the game as they dropped the nonconference matchup 90-80.
 
Simmons led the Tomcats in scoring with a career-high 21 points on 8-19 from the field and 5-10 from beyond the arc. Terrance Holloway (Farrell, Pa./Farrell) and Anthony Byrd (Plantation, Fla./Blanche Ely) each collected 13 points apiece in the loss.
 
With the result, Thiel falls to 0-2 on the year and will be back in action on Friday as they compete at the Buzz Ridl Classic hosted by Westminster College. Thiel will face SUNY-Geneseo on Friday at 6:00 p.m. before squaring off with Defiance College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.