DATE: Jan. 22, 2003

LOCATION: Tippin Gym, Clarion, Pa.

TIME: 8 p.m.

CLARION RECORD: 12-3 overall, 1-0 PSAC-West SRU RECORD: 5-8 overall, 0-2 PSAC-West

NCAA D-II EAST REGION RANKINGS: Clarion 9^th; SRU – Not ranked

CLARION LAST GAME: Jan. 18, 2003 – Clarion 90, Pitt-Johnstown 72 (at Clarion)

SRU LAST GAME: Jan. 18, 2003 – Shippensburg 68, SRU 58 (at Slippery Rock)

NEXT UP: Clarion hosts IUP (8 p.m.) Saturday, while SRU hosts St. Vincent (7:30 p.m.) Monday

CLARION LAST 10 GAMES: 8-2 SRU LAST 10 GAME: 3-7

CLARION-SRU SERIES LAST 10 GAMES: Clarion leads 9-1 (includes playoff game)

CLARION-SRU LAST 10 REGULAR SEASON GAMES: Clarion leads 10-0

LAST SEASON: Clarion won 77-55 at Slippery Rock; Clarion won 74-60 at Clarion

LAST SRU WIN: Feb. 29, 2000 – SRU 73-54 ( at Clarion PSAC Playoffs)

LAST SRU REGULAR SEASON WIN: Feb. 24, 1993 – SRU 87, Clarion 80 (at Slippery Rock)

RECENT CLARION-SUR SERIES HISTORY: Clarion has won 18 straight regular-season games against Slippery Rock dating back to the first time the teams met in the 1993-94 season … Slippery Rock does have one win over Clarion during that stretch, a 73-54 win in the first-round of the 2000 PSAC Playoffs at Tippin Gym ... In addition to the 18-game regular-season win streak over the Pride, Clarion has also won 22 of the past 24 games against Slippery Rock … This streak came on the heels of Slippery Rock having won 8 of 10 games between the two rivals from 1985-89 … During the Golden Eagles 18-game regular-season win streak, the games have been all over the map in terms of competitiveness … Eight have been decided by nine points or less, but seven have been decided by 15 points or more.

CLARION LEADERS: Rollie Smith (Sr. G – 21.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.5 spg); Dereck Rankin (Sr., G – 11.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.8 spg), Shamar Green (Fr., F – 11.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg), Terrance Vaughns (Fr., G – 10.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.7 apg), Chris Kelley (Sr., G – 9.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.1 spg).

SRU LEADERS: Dave Freeman (13.2 ppg, 5.6rpg), Bill Johnson (9.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.0 spg), Aaron Epps (7.6 ppg), Shaun Grill (7.6 ppg), Dave Johnson (6.8 ppg. 2.5 apg, 1.7 spg).

RECENT CLARION NEWS: Senior guard Rollie Smith was named PSAC-West Player of the Week for the second week in a row after averaging 32.5 ppg while shooting 52.9 percent from the field … Smith scored a career-high 38 points in the 90-72 win over UPJ Saturday and had 27 points in the 79-72 win over California Wednesday … Smith, who was co-player of the week with Edinboro’s Jakim Donaldson, was joined by freshman forward Shamar Green in being honored by the PSAC. Green was chosen as the PSAC-West Rookie of the Week after averaging 14.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg in the 2-0 Clarion week. He connected for 20 points and seven rebounds in the win over UPJ.

CLARION HEAD COACH DR. RON RIGHTER: 268-168 (61.5%) career record including 244-144 (62.9%) at Clarion … Has led Golden Eagles to six straight PSAC Playoff appearances and the PSAC championship in 2000-01 … Clarion won PSAC-West titles in 1997-98 and 1999-2000 … Golden Eagles qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2000-01 … Righter is 22-7 in his career vs. Slippery Rock.