CLARION, Pa. - Senior RJ Laugand had a big day, shooting a perfect 100% from the field, finishing with a game-high 13 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists, but Clarion fell 61-60 at home to Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon.
 
Going into the half, the Golden Eagles trailed by just one, 27-26, shooting just 32% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc. Lawrence Lemon paced the Blue and Gold in the first half scoring nine of his 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting.
 
The second half proved quite the opposite for Clarion as they improved their shooting to an astounding 53%, while knocking it down from three point land at a clip of 42%. Big man Jonathan Williams went to work in the second half scoring his 10 total points in just 12 minutes of action on 4 of 5 shooting from the field and shooting 50 % from three.

A bucket by Laugand made it 60-57 Clarion with just one minute left to go, but a pair of foul shots from Nolen Gerald would put the Rock down just one. After a turnover and a Rock timeout Vinny Lasley would make a layup with just 10 seconds left in the game to give Slippery Rock the lead and ultimately the game.  

Clarion falls to 5-17 on the season and 3-14 in the PSAC, while Slippery Rock improves their overall record to 18-7 and 15-3 in the PSAC.

Laugand led all scorers with 13 points on the day, knocking down 5 of 5 field goal attempts, and collecting four rebounds in 22 minutes of work. Elijah Cottrill had 11 points on the day while Lemon and J. Williams each chipped in 10 points. Junior Stevan Rodriguez brought in a team-high 10 boards, while adding eight points.

As a team the Golden Eagles shot well on the day going 43% from the field including 6 of 14 (43%) from three point range.  They also knocked down 8 of 14 attempts from the free throw line.

Clarion will travel to Indiana, Pa. on Wednesday, February 20^th, to take on the conference leading IUP Crimson Hawks. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.