CLARION, Pa. --- Trey Nelson recorded the sixth triple-double in NCAA Division II this season, and the Golden Eagles men's basketball team won a high scoring battle with Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon, topping The Rock 97-87 in Tippin Gymnasium.
 
Nelson showed strong command of the offense for the Golden Eagles against The Rock, knowing when to dish the ball off and when to take it himself. That led to one of the most impressive individual efforts in recent Golden Eagles history, as the point guard played all 40 minutes of regulation and totaled 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 5-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and also went 8-of-9 at the free throw line.
 
The rest of the team took their cues from Nelson, humming along to an efficient day. Clarion went 34-of-71 (.479) from the field and 10-of-24 (.417) from three-point range, but it was the fast break that proved to be Slippery Rock's ultimate undoing. The Golden Eagles scored 38 points on the break.
 
It was a balanced scoring effort across the board for Clarion, led by the conference's leading scorer Cam Kearney. The junior guard scored a game-high 22 points, taking control of the game in the second half and scoring in a variety of ways. Jeremy Thomas II, Kendon Peebles and Josiah Dow all posted 14 points.
 
The game also held special significance for assistant coach Mike McCready. Filling in for head coach Damian Pitts, McCready earned his first-ever head coaching win with the victory.
 
The effectiveness of Clarion's transition game was apparent in the opening minutes, when on back-to-back possessions defensive steals turned into buckets the other way. Nelson sparked one such play when he stole the ball from Luke Howes and advanced it to Peebles, with the latter throwing ahead to Thomas for a fast break dunk that put the Golden Eagles in the lead. On the very next possession Clarion did nearly the same thing, with Nelson pulling down a clean defensive rebound and Peebles dishing to Thomas for a layup.
 
Nelson made his own fast break at the 13:21 mark of the first, going coast to coast off an inbound and drawing a foul from Bobby Clifford for an old-fashioned three-point play. Dow made two three-pointers in rapid succession to make it 21-15, and Nelson eventually pushed the Golden Eagles' lead to 31-20 with a bucket at the 7:51 mark. Traden Gray scored Clarion's last bucket of the first half, tipping in his own miss to make it 43-30, but the Rock scored four straight before the break to keep the deficit in single digits.
 
A strong start to the second half saw Slippery Rock cut the margin to two possessions, with Jomo Goings pulling his team to within 53-49 after a fast break bucket at the 14:42 mark. Nelson pumped the lead back up immediately, first by kicking out to Kearney for a three-pointer on the next possession, and then by stealing the ball from Sheick Samoura to set up a bucket for Gavin Cote. He found Kearney again for a three-pointer at the 12:48 mark, pushing the lead to 10 points again and capping a 10-4 run.
 
Action continued to go Clarion's way for the remainder of the game as the Golden Eagles kept the Rock at bay. Sheick cut the deficit to 88-80 with a tip-in at the 2:06 mark, but Clarion managed the endgame for the win.
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