Box Score CLARION, Pa. – Despite having four players reach double figures the Clarion University men's basketball team dropped a PSAC West game to Slippery Rock, 75-62, Saturday evening at Clarion's Tippin Gym.
Mike Kromka led Clarion with 18 points and nine rebounds, his fourth straight game of at least 18 points, while
Marques Jones,
Leonard Patterson and
Anthony Baker each scored 10 points for the Golden Eagles (2-4 overall, 1-2 PSAC West). Baker added nine rebounds, three blocks, two steals and an assist.
But Slippery Rock (5-1, 3-0) got 18 points from Darious Clark, 16 points, 11 rebounds from Devin Taylor and 13 points, eight rebounds from Tabari Perry to stay unbeaten in PSAC West play. Luiz Santos chipped in nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Clarion trailed by just three, 30-27, following a Baker jumper with 1:43 left in the first half before Slippery Rock ended the half on a 4-0 spurt to take a 34-27 halftime lead.
The Golden Eagles got back within four twice early in the second half including at 37-33 on two Jones free throws with 17:25 left before SRU used a quick 9-2 run with the nine points coming from four different players to put the lead into double digits for good, 46-35, on a Perry layup with 15:06 left. That lead grew to as many as 23 points, 69-46, before a late Clarion run got the Golden Eagles back within 11, 73-62, with just under two minutes to play. But that was as close as the game got.
Clarion returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at Kutztown. It will be the first road game of the season for the Golden Eagles.
NOTES – Kromka took 23 shots in the game making eight of them. The 23 attempts are the most by a Golden Eagle since Lloyd Harrison had 23 at Edinboro Feb. 12, 2011. He is just the third Clarion player to attempt at least 23 shots in a game since 2005 and the first to do so at home since Josh Yanke had 23 attempts vs. Urbana Jan. 26, 2009 …. Kromka has 81 points (20.3) and 40 rebounds (10.0) in his last four games … The game marked the earliest Clarion played a PSAC West foe in a conference game since the 1976-1977 season (Dec. 4, 1976 vs. Edinboro) and the first time it has played a PSAC West foe in a conference game since Dec. 10, 1977 (IUP).
