CLARION “GOLDEN EAGLES” AT SLIPPERY ROCK “THE ROCK”
PSAC-WEST MEN’S BASKETBALL
DATE: Jan. 21, 2004 LOCATION: Morrow Field House, Slippery Rock, Pa. TIME: 8 p.m.
CLARION RECORD: 10-4 overall, 0-1 PSAC-West SRU RECORD: 4-12 overall, 1-1 PSAC-West
LAST GAMES – U. District of Columbia 76, Clarion 70 (Monday); SRU 70, Shippensburg 57 (Saturday)
NEXT UP: Clarion is at IUP Saturday (8 p.m.); SRU hosts IUP Jan. 28 (8 p.m.)
CLARION LAST 10 GAMES: 7-3 SRU LAST 10 GAME: 3-7
CLARION-SRU SERIES LAST 10 GAMES: Clarion leads 8-2 (includes playoff game)
CLARION-SRU LAST 10 REGULAR SEASON GAMES: Clarion leads 9-1
LAST SEASON: Clarion won 65-54 at Clarion; Slippery Rock won 67-62 at Slippery Rock
RECENT CLARION-SUR SERIES HISTORY: When Slippery Rock beat Clarion 67-62 Feb. 19 last year it broke a 19-game regular-season win streak against The Rock for the Golden Eagles … The last time Slippery Rock had beaten Clarion in the regular season prior to last year was Feb. 24, 1993 … The Rock had knocked the Golden Eagles out of the PSAC Playoffs with a 73-54 win Feb. 29, 2000 … Despite last year’s loss, Clarion has won 23 of the past 26 games against Slippery Rock … That streak comes on the heels of Slippery Rock having won 8 of 10 games between the two rivals from 1985-89.
CLARION LEADERS: Michael Clarke – 12.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 12 blocks; Terrance Vaughns – 11.0 ppg, 2.5 apg; Justin Collins 9.7 ppg; Ryan Wells – 8.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.4 apg – Ranks 4th in the PSAC in rebounding.
SLIPPERY ROCK LEADERS: Bill Johnson – 14.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg; Jason Taylor –11.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 14 blocks; Jajuan Davis – 10.4 ppg.
CLARION NOTES: Clarion has lost two in a row after winning 10 of 11 including six straight … The Golden Eagles are coming off a tough 76-70 loss at the University of the District of Columbia Monday in a game that saw Clarion called for 29 fouls and UDC 15 with UDC shooting 39 free throws (26-39) and Clarion 16 (7-16) … It was the first time since Dec. 18 that the Golden Eagles had allowed more than 56 points in game … Clarion has gone six straight games without allowing a team to crack 60 points, a first in the shot clock era at Clarion … On the season, the Golden Eagles are allowing a PSAC leading 61 ppg and have held opponents to under 60 points seven times … Justin Collins is coming off a career-high 26 points against UDC. Collins hit 7 of 10 three-pointers in the game, just two of the school record for three’s in a game held by David Cruise and Kwame Morton. His 70% from three-point range is second in school history behind Kwame Morton’s 80% (8-10) for players attempting at least 10 three’s in a game … Clarion is getting use to close games … Its last four games having all been decided by 9 points or fewer including three by six points or less and 10 of Clarion’s last 12 games have been decided by 10 points or less with Clarion going 7-3 in those games. The Golden Eagles remain one of the youngest teams in the PSAC with just two juniors (Lee Church & Ryan Wells) and five sophomores or freshman in the top seven in scoring on the team. The two juniors are first-year players for the Golden Eagles, meaning the most experienced players in the top seven scorers are Terrance Vaughns and Justin Collins, who both have played 43 games at Clarion.
SLIPPERY ROCK NOTES: Slippery Rock broke a 6-game losing streak with a 70-57 win at Shippensburg Saturday … It was the second time this season, the Rock had a six-game losing streak … Slippery Rock is allowing 82.1 ppg this season, the worst mark in the PSAC while scoring 68.9 ppg, the 11th best mark in the conference.