Philadelphia, Pa. - The Holy Family University men's basketball team dropped their home opener, 86-70, in a non-conference contest against Clarion University at the Campus Center Saturday afternoon.

Holy Family is now 1-3 overall, while Clarion begins its season at 1-0.

Junior Tim Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Daugherty) led Holy Family with a game-high 30 points as he connected on 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Smith finished 9-of-20 from the field and was 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also grabbed five boards and dished out six assists.

Holy Family also had a trio of freshmen finish with nine points each. Alberto Munoz (Morrisville, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) (Morrisville, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) scored nine points and grabbed six boards, while Levente Csovasi (Keuskemet, Hungary/Afeosz) had nine points after shooting 4-of-9 from the field. Nate Hodge (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) added nine points off the bench after converting 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

For Clarion, junior Paul McQueen was the team's leading scorer among six players scoring in double-figures. McQueen finished with 15 points after shooting 5-of-8 from the field. Senior Jamar Harrison added 14 points and seven boards, while Lloyd Harrison contributed 13 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists.

Holy Family came out firing to open the game as the Tigers jumped out to a 13-3 run. Holy Family knocked down three three-point baskets in the first four-plus minutes of play including two by Smith.

However, Clarion responded with a run of its own and followed with a 13-2 run capped by a three-point play by freshman Mike Kromka. Kromka scored on a layup and completed the three-point play after being fouled with a free throw to give the Golden Eagles a 16-15 lead with 10:15 remaining in the first half.

Later in the half, Clarion went on another run, this time taking over the lead for good. The Golden Eagles took control after a layup basket by Jamar Harrison to make it 20-19 with less than eight minutes to go in the half. Clarion went on an 8-0 run to increase its lead to 26-19 at the 5:14 mark.

In the second half, Holy Family came within three points after Hodge converted a pair of three throws to make it 43-40 with 14:15 to play in regulation. However, that's as close as the Tigers would get as Clarion went on to the 86-70 victory.

Holy Family is back in action one week from today as the Tigers travel to Chowan University down in Murfreesboro, N.C. for a non-conference contest. Game time is slated for 2 p.m.

- HFU -