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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- The Rock worked an overtime shift Saturday afternoon in hopes of securing an elusive berth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs, but could not cash the check.
Hosting Clarion, after never leading in the first 36-plus minutes of action, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and escaped with a 93-90 win in Morrow Field House.
In the process, the Golden Eagles (16-11 overall, 7-5 PSAC-W) extinguished SRU's bid for its first PSAC playoff berth since the 1999-2000 season.
A Rock win Saturday, coupled with an Indiana (Pa.) loss Saturday night to Lock Haven (7:30 p.m. tipoff), would have sent the Green and White into postseason play.
SRU finished the season with a 7-20 overall record, the most wins by a Rock men's team since the 2004-05 team had the same mark, and a 4-8 PSAC-West mark.
When The Rock looks back over its 2007-08 season, it will see and agonize over several "shoulda-won" games, Saturday's being the latest addition to that list.
One week after being demolished on the road by last-place Shippensburg, The Rock looked every bit a playoff contender Saturday vs. the postseason-bound Golden Eagles.
As stated previously, The Rock did not trail until the final three minutes of regulation play. SRU held a 13-point (27-14) advantage with six minutes left in the first half and had a nine-point (35-26) advantage at intermission.
The Green and White held their largest lead of the game, a 14-point (50-36) advantage, with 16 minutes left in regulation time. Five minutes later, SRU still had a double-digit lead (58-46).
But Clarion refused to go quietly and outscored the hosts by a 25-11 margin in the next six and a half minutes to take a 71-69 lead with 2:45 left in standard time.
SRU did not regain the lead until two minutes had transpired in the five-minute overtime period.
An off-balance, hand-in-his-face 3-point shot by Matt Schaefer just prior to the regulation-time buzzer tied the score at 78-78 and sent the game into overtime.
SRU held 84-83 and 86-85 leads during the extra stanza.
A statistic that could long haunt The Rock was its 50% (13 of 26) efficiency from the foul line. Clarion, on the other hand, sank 74.3% (26 of 35) of its charity tosses.
Lost in the disappointment of the defeat was the fact that six Rock players finished with double-digit scoring totals.
Freshman sharpshooter Itay Levy led the scoring parade with 19 points, including four 3-point bombs, while junior wing player Erroll Robinson finished with 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds and junior postman Joseph Vines chipped in 14 points.
Schaefer and junior point guard Darnell Johnson each buried three treys and finished with 12 points and five assists, while senior wingman Jamar Scales also chalked up a dozen tallies.
Scales was honored before the game as the lone senior on this year's squad.
Mike Sherry scored 19 points for Clarion to share game-high scoring honors with Levy.
