SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team cut a double-digit deficit down to just two possessions in the second half, but Clarion could not finish off their comeback effort at Slippery Rock, falling 64-54 at Morrow Field House on Wednesday.
 
The Golden Eagles opened the second half on a 12-4 run that spanned more than seven minutes of game action, pulling them closer after trailing by a dozen at halftime. Jeremy Thomas II laid it in at the 17:07 mark to kick off the scoring action, and Steve Kelly drove and scored with 14:39 to go to make in a ten-point game. Traden Gray made a midrange jumper to make it 42-36, and Kelly capped the run with a jumper at the 11:27 mark to draw his team to within four points.
 
It was still a six-point Slippery Rock lead with eight minutes to go, after Kelly drove and laid it up behind his head to make it 46-40. A series of free throws put The Rock ahead 50-40 just a minute later, and Cam Kearney cut it to 57-49 after he converted a four-point play, drawing a foul during a three-point jump shot. Clarion got no closer, though, as The Rock established another double-digit lead. Kelly hit a three-pointer with just over a minute remaining to draw the game back to 10 points, but were not able to capitalize further.
 
Thomas finished with a huge stat line on the night, scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds for a double-double. Kelly scored 13 points while also recording five rebounds and four assists.
 
The first half started out as an even battle before The Rock started to pull away with under eight minutes to play in the half. Clarion quickly recovered from a 6-2 Rock lead to take an advantage of their own, with Thomas laying it in to cap a 5-0 Golden Eagle run. Gavin Cote added a three-pointer at the 13:22 mark of the half to put his team ahead 10-9, but Slippery Rock countered with a 10-4 run to retake control.
 
Cote responded to this outburst with his second three-pointer of the game, taking a feed from Kelly and burying it for the bucket to make it 19-17. The Rock counterpunched with a 16-4 run that gave them a double-digit advantage, making the score 34-21 with 1:51 left in the half. Justice Easter broke the run with a three-pointer, but a late layup by Jomo Goings gave Slippery Rock a 38-26 at halftime.