CLARION, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team saw a five-point lead slip away in the final two minutes as Clarion University battled back for a 64-61 victory Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action from Tippin Gymnasium.
 
The two teams traded short swings in momentum for most of the night before Slippery Rock edged ahead 61-56 with 2:10 to play. The Rock failed to convert after that and Clarion closed the game on an 8-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining. SRU had a desperation look at a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it wouldn't fall.
 
The Rock led for more than 24 minutes Wednesday night, but Clarion shot 61.1 percent in the second half and made 10-of-11 free throws in the final 20 minutes to push back for the win. SRU shot 50 percent in the first half, but slipped to 37.9 percent in the second half and was just 5-of-9 at the free throw line in the period.
 
Wednesday's loss marks the third in the row for Slippery Rock and drops the team below .500 for the first time since Nov. 25 at 12-13 overall. It could also have a significant impact on The Rock's chances at making the PSAC playoffs as SRU drops to fifth in the PSAC West at 8-11 in league games. The Rock are a half-game ahead of Seton Hill (8-12) for the sixth and final playoff position and two games ahead of seventh place California (6-13) with three games left to play. Clarion has already been eliminated from playoff contention, but improved to 7-18 overall and 4-15 in PSAC games with the win. It marked the first win over an NCAA opponent for the Golden Eagles since Dec. 10, a stretch of 14 games.
 
The loss put a damper on the second straight and seventh overall 20-plus point game of the season for Naquil Jones, who led all scorers in the game with 27 points. It marks the second-highest scoring output of Jones' career. He also handed out three assists and blocked one shot.
 
Merdic Green was the only other SRU player to reach double figures, finishing with 12 points. Christal Malalu added nine points and no other player scored more than three points. Vinny Lasley grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go along with three points.
 
Clarion was paced by Cameron Grumley with 19 points, including a 7-of-7 effort at the free throw line. Justin Grant added 14 points and Jamani Pierce scored 11 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer that sealed the win.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game shooting 43.4 percent from the field (23-of-53), 29.4 percent from 3-point (5-of-17) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (10-of-15). The Rock and Clarion each pulled down 28 rebounds, marking just the fourth time this season an opponent has matched or bettered SRU on the glass.
 
The Golden Eagles shot 50 percent from the field (22-of-44), 40.0 percent from 3-point (6-of-15) and 93.3 percent at the free throw line (14-of-15).
 
Slippery Rock will look to bounce back and bolster its playoff chances Saturday when it returns to Morrow Field House to host Gannon for the final home game of the regular season. Tip is set for 3 p.m. and The Rock's three seniors, Jones, Jordan Marrow and George Chase, will be honored in a brief pregame ceremony.