CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion men's basketball team came back from a halftime deficit to run away with a conference game at home on Wednesday, defeating Slippery Rock 62-49 at Tippin Gymnasium for the team's second straight win.  The Golden Eagles improve to 10-8 overall, 7-5 in PSAC play.
 
Rob Agurs went off for 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting and a highly-efficient 10-of-12 performance from the free throw line.  The senior forward was also responsible for six rebounds and a game-high five steals against the Rock.  Agurs carried the offense for long stretches of time, slashing to the hoop and either getting the bucket or drawing contact.
 
No other Clarion players reached double-figures in scoring, though BJ Andrews scored nine points and added a steal, while Cameron Grumley came off the bench for eight points, two rebounds and two steals. 
 
The Clarion defense tortured the Rock all evening long, forcing 29 turnovers and turning those errors into 32 points.  The Golden Eagles finished with a 12-6 advantage in fast break points, with those easy buckets contributing to a 48.3 field goal percentage in the second half.  This came on the heels of a rough offensive performance in the first half, as Clarion shot just 21.4 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. 
 
The Golden Eagles trailed 25-20 after the first half but quickly went on the offensive in the second, taking the lead early on and not allowing the Rock back into the game.  Akeem Williams put the Golden Eagles ahead for the first time in the half with a tip-in to make it 31-29, and Grumley drilled a three-pointer through a foul by Malcolm Richardson to make it a 36-35 advantage with 13:14 to play.  Agurs capped a 7-0 Clarion run with a jumper off a feed from Andre' Anthony to make it 40-35, but Slippery Rock cut the deficit to just one point on a fast break dunk from Cornelius Brown with 10:54 left.
 
Clarion responded with another 6-0 run, with Agurs providing all the offense over the course of a minute.  He capped the run with a transition bucket at the 9:37 mark, with Grumley swiping a pass from Naquil Jones and kicking it ahead to Agurs for the layup.  Agurs ran his own fast break at the 5:49 mark of the first half, hauling in a defensive rebound and racing down the floor for a make to put Clarion ahead 50-44.  He made it a double-digit advantage for the first time in the game at the 3:59 mark, throwing down a transition dunk after stealing the ball from Abdul King and dishing off to Anthony before Anthony kicked it back for the jam.
 
The pressure was one for the rest of the game as well, with the Golden Eagles making it a double-digit lead for good with 1:28 to play after a Justin Grant free throw.  Agurs scored the final three points of the game on free throws as the Golden Eagles kept the Rock from making a field goal for the final 3:51 of regulation.