SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team will complete a brief two-game Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division road swing 3 p.m. Saturday at Clarion.

TICKETS
General admission tickets sold at Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium are $7 for adults, while general admission tickets for ages 6-18 as well as non-Clarion students with college IDs are $3. Children under six years old will be admitted for free. More ticketing information can be found on Clarion's website HERE.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Video and in-game statistics for Saturday's game will be provided free of charge by Clarion athletic communications at the below links.
 
GAME 19 DETAILS
Opponent: Clarion
Date: Saturday – 3 p.m.
Location: Clarion, Pennsylvania
Venue: Tippin Gymnasium
Video: Link
Live Stats: Link
In-game Updates: Twitter/X (@Rock_Athletics)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Slippery Rock leads 114-84
Current Streak: SRU W5
First Meeting: Feb. 6, 1911 (SRU won 25-23)
Last Meeting: Feb. 21, 2024 (SRU won 97-94, OT)
Most Points, SRU: 107 - Jan. 6, 1968
Most Points, Clarion: 113 – Feb. 17, 1979
Largest Victory, SRU: 39 (51-12), Jan. 5, 1923
Largest Victory, Clarion: 39 (94-55), Jan 15, 1997
SRU coach Ian Grady vs. Clarion: 9-1
Clarion coach Damian Pitts vs. SRU: 1-7
 
Slippery Rock has earned five straight victories over Clarion, and 11 wins in its last 12 games overall against the Golden Eagles, to improve its record all-time versus Clarion to 114-84 since the inception of the series in 1911.
 
A year ago, SRU recorded a pair of victories against the Golden Eagles by way of a 64-54 home victory and a tight 97-94 overtime triumph in Tippin Gymnasium behind a 26-point, seven-rebound, two-steal outing by Jomo Goings.
 
ROCK ROTATION vs. CLARION
• Maceo Austin: 19 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Steals (1 Game)
• Jomo Goings: 16.0 Points, 6.3 Rebounds, 1.5 Blocks, 1.5 Steals (4 Games)
• Ike Herster: 13.0 Points, 4.0 Rebounds (2 Games)
• Luke Howes: 9.0 Points, 4.0 Assists, 2.5 Steals (2 Games)
• Bobby Clifford: 4.0 Points, 6.3 Rebounds (6 Games)
 

TEAM COMPARISON
SRU	STAT	CLARION
77.2	Points per Game	76.4
75.3	Opp. Points per Game	76.4
.430	Field Goal Pct.	.461
.443	Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.436
.286	3-Point Pct.	.370
.344	Opp 3-Point Pct.	.324
6.2	3-PT Made per Game	8.4
.747	Free Throw Pct.	.725
17.8	FT Made Per Game	13.7
37.8	Rebounds per Game	34.7
38.7	Opp. Rebounds per Game	36.3
-0.9	Rebounding Margin	-1.6
+1.3	Turnover Margin	-1.4
11.1	Steals	7.3
4.6	Blocks	4.0

RECORDS & LAST TIME OUT
• Slippery Rock saw its record move to 10-8 overall and 6-4 inside the PSAC following a 90-64 loss Wednesday at No. 21 Gannon University.
 
• Clarion enters Morrow Field House on a five-game losing streak which has dropped its record to 8-8 overall and 3-7 in conference competition. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 90-74 road loss Wednesday at California (Pa.).  

INSIDE THE PSAC WEST STANDINGS
While Slippery Rock failed to gain any ground on division-leader Gannon in Wednesday's loss, SRU still sits second in a crowded PSAC West Standings. With 10 games remaining on the conference schedule, the race to claim the six spots from the Western Division that qualify for the conference tournament is wide open.
 
• Nationally ranked Gannon is in firm control of the top spot in the PSAC West standings courtesy of a perfect 10-0 record in league play.
 
• Slippery Rock occupies the second spot on the table as the only team outside of GU to have a winning PSAC mark (6-4).
 
• California has won three straight games to play its way into a tie with Edinboro for third in the division at 5-5.
 
• The final four spots in the PSAC West standings are separated by just 1.5 games with IUP entering the weekend in fifth place at 4-5 followed by Pitt-Johnstown (4-6), Seton Hill (3-6) and Clarion (3-7).
 
• The top six teams from each both the PSAC West and PSAC East at the end of the regular season qualify for the PSAC Tournament. SRU has made the PSAC Tournament in 13 of the last 15 seasons the event has been held.

WKBN-TV TO TELEVISE WHITE OUT GAMES JAN. 22 vs. IUP
The Slippery Rock Athletic Communication Office and WKBN-TV will partner for a live television broadcast of Rock Basketball's White Out Night doubleheader against Indiana University (Pa.) next Wednesday, Jan. 22.
 
The Rock women's basketball team will open the action against IUP with a 5:30 p.m. tip with the men's game following around 7:30 p.m. It will mark the first home games for SRU in nearly six weeks where students will be back on campus as the spring semester classes are set to begin Tuesday. The Rock Athletic Club will also welcome club members for receptions during both games. Tickets are available online and can be purchased HERE. SRU students will be admitted free.
 
Fans are encouraged to wear white to the game and can pick up an official "White Out" t-shirt at the SGA Bookstore for just $5 for sizes small through XL and $8 for 2XL. A limited supply of shirts will also be on sale in the lobby of Morrow Field House on game day.
 
Both games will air live to viewers in the Youngstown, Ohio television markets. They will also be simulcast on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, where SRU broadcasts more than 100 athletics events each year.
 
The games will air live on the following channels for viewers in the Youngstown, Ohio TV markets:

•     Streaming LIVE on WKBN.com
•     Digital over the air at 33.2 or 62.2 HD
•     Armstrong Cable Channel 13 or 108
•     Comcast Cable Channel 3
•     Direct TV Channel 15
•     Spectrum Channel 997 or 1008
•     Hulu TV
•     YouTube TV
•     Fubo TV  

The Slippery Rock Athletic Communication Office will also simulcast the WKBN-TV broadcast on the Rock Athletics Digital Network and the PSAC Sports Digital Network, allowing fans access to the game through their normal viewing outlets if they are not in the Youngstown market.
 
More information regarding the White Out and the viewing options can be found HERE.

SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 10-8
• PSAC Record: 6-4
• PSAC West Standings: 2nd
• Home Record: 6-5
• Away Record: 4-3
• Streak: L1
• Last 5 Games: 3-2
• Head Coach: Ian Grady | Seventh season (94-70, .573)

STOPPING A SLIDE BEFORE IT STARTS
Slippery Rock has done an outstanding job of avoiding lengthy divisional losing streaks over the last seven years under head coach Ian Grady. Since Grady's first year in 2018-19 The Rock have lost three consecutive games to PSAC West opponents just twice (2021-22 and 2022-23).
 
Among the eight current PSAC West teams, only Indiana (Pa.) has fewer three-game divisional losing streaks over the same stretch of time (one).
 
While SRU does have a non-conference victory over Penn State New Kensington sandwiched between the two, Slippery Rock is currently on a two-game losing streak inside the PSAC West with recent setbacks against California and Gannon. A victory over the Golden Eagles would keep SRU from adding a third three-game losing streak in the division.

ROCK RESILIENCY
Thankfully for The Rock, blowout losses such as the Gannon defeat have been few and far between over the last seven years under head coach Ian Grady – and when those type of defeats do happen, they are typically followed up by wins.
 
Since the 2018-19 season, Slippery Rock has suffered losses of 25 points or more just seven times in 148 regular-season games. SRU is a perfect 7-0 in games immediately following those such losses.

THE ROCK'S RECORD WIN
Leading / Tied At Halftime: 6-3
Shooting Above 45%: 7-2
Outrebounding Opponent: 8-2
Committing Fewer Turnovers Than Opponent: 8-1

OPTIONS ABOUND ON THE WING
The strength of this season's roster no doubt is at combo guard/forward where Jomo Goings, Maceo Austin, Ike Herster, Day Waters, Bobby Clifford and Sheick Samoura have all shined at various points of the season.
 
• One of the most versatile athletes in the entire Atlantic Region, Goings has improved on a strong 2023-24 season with an outstanding 2024-25 campaign to date. Over 17 games, the All-PSAC West honoree has averaged 17 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.6 steals per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field overall and 83.2 percent at the foul line.
 
• Much like Goings, when Austin is in the game he's very likely to be one of the top players on the court. Austin, who was also an All-PSAC West choice a year ago, gives SRU 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals a game in addition to shooting 47.4 percent overall.
 
• The only Rock athlete to have started all 18 games this season, Herster enters Tippin Gymnasium as SRU's third-leading scorer with 15.2 points per game. Herster, who also makes 1.3 steals per game defensively, has made a team-best 32 3-pointers and currently sits 17th in the PSAC in 3-pointers made per game (1.8).
 
• Goings (11th), Austin (12th) and Herster (14th) are all ranked in the top-15 in the PSAC in scoring. SRU is the only team in the conference with three athletes ranked among the top-15 scorers in the conference.
 
• A transfer from Millersville, Waters has started eight games and been one of the first athletes off the bench in seven other games en route to averaging 9.0 points per game.
 
• Clifford and Samoura have each served as key reserves this year. They both average 5.6 points per game with Clifford's coming on a solid .473 field goal percentage. Samoura has two double-digit scoring efforts and six steals over the last three games.
 
SHOW RUNNER
Point guard Luke Howes has proven to be one of The Rock's most consistent athletes this year. Now in his second season at SRU, Howes has started 15 consecutive games while producing 8.6 points, 3.1 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
 
More importantly, the veteran floor general provides the offense with stability when he's on the court. Howes has just three multi-turnover games in The Rock's last nine games played and heads to Clarion ranked eighth in the PSAC in assist-turnover ratio (1.7).  
 
GOING INSIDE
While Slippery Rock is by and large a perimeter-oriented team, SRU does have quality post options led by O'Meech Wilson and Mack Staunch.
 
The duo combines to provide SRU with 6.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Wilson has started 14 of his 15 games played on the way to per game averages of 3.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. Staunch meanwhile has strung together back-to-back quality performances in which he's totaled 19 points, 12 rebounds and three steals over a span of 31 minutes versus Penn State New Kensington and Gannon.

SAMOURA LEADS THE RESERVES
Sheick Samoura scored 10 points off the bench against Gannon and accounted for half of The Rock's bench offensive production in the game. On the year, Samoura has compiled 26.6 percent (93 of 350) of SRU's bench points. SRU averages 20.3 bench points per game on the season overall and 31.4 over the last seven games.
 
Bench Points (Season Leaders)
Sheick Samoura: 93 (16 games)
Bobby Clifford: 72 (14 games)
Day Waters: 63 (7 games)
Jomo Goings: 39 (3 games)
Mack Staunch: 37 (14 games)
Bryon Ottrix: 20 (12 games)
Luke Howes: 11 (2 games)
Michael Moore: 8 (11 games)
Alex Griggs: 3 (9 games)
Colin McQuiston: 2 (3 games)
Malik Robinson: 2 (1 game)

CLIFFORD TO PLAY 104th GAME
When Bobby Clifford takes the floor Saturday he will be appearing in his 104th game at The Rock and in doing so move into a tie for 10th place in program history for games played in a career alongside Glenn Reepmeyer (2002-07), Jade Burka (2007-11) and Eroll Robinson (2005-09).
 
The program record for games played in a career is 117, shared by former Rock greats Kevin Jones (1987-91) and C. Russell (1987-91).
 
Not accounting for any potential postseason competition, Clifford has the chance to play in 10 more regular season game, which would put him in sixth place on the program ledger with 113 games played.  

GOINGS CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
In the coming weeks Jomo Goings is on pace to become the 25th athlete in program history to score 1,000 career points at The Rock. Goings has scored 960 points over his first 79 games in a SRU uniform, making him 40 points away from history.
 
At his current season average of 17 points per game, Goings would join the 1,000-point club against Edinboro on Jan. 29. He will be the first SRU athlete to score 1,000 points since Amante Britt in 2023.
 
When Goings does reach the historic mark he will join Ike Herster as current 1,000-point scorers at SRU. Herster has scored 1,060 between his time at The Rock and Gannon. Six current athletes inside the program have already reached at least 500 points in their respective college careers.
 
SRU Active Leading Scorers (Entire College Career)
Ike Herster (Gannon / Slippery Rock): 1,074
Jomo Goings (Slippery Rock): 960
Maceo Austin (Duquesne / Slippery Rock): 898
Day Waters (Millersville / Slippery Rock): 654
Luke Howes (Walsh / Slippery Rock): 652
Bobby Clifford (Slippery Rock): 574
O'Meech Wilson (Howard CC / Slippery Rock): 490
 
HOW THE ROCK COMPARES (PSAC TEAM RANKINGS)
• Scoring: 9h (77.2)
• Points Allowed Per Game: 7th (75.3)
• Scoring Margin: 8th (+1.8)
• Field Goal %: 12th (.430)
• Opponent Field Goal %: 10th (.443)
• 3pt-Field Goal %: 17th (.286)
• Opponent 3pt-Field Goal %: 13th (.344)
• 3pt Made Per Game: 11th (6.2)
• Free Throw %: 6th (.747)
• Free Made Throws Game: 3rd (17.8)
• Rebounds Per Game: 9th (37.8)
• Rebounding Margin: 12th (-0.9)
• Turnovers Per Game: 17th (17.0)
• Opponent Turnovers Per Game: 3rd (18.3)
• Turnover Margin: 4th (+1.3)
• Steals Per Game: 2nd (11.1)
• Blocks Per Game: 1st (4.6)
 
ROCK AMONG PSAC'S BEST (INDIVIDUAL LEADERS)
Jomo Goings
• Steals: (2nd / 2.6)
• FT%: (10th / .832)
• Scoring: (11th / 17.0)
• Assists: (13th / 3.2)
• Total Rebounding: (15th / 6.2)
• FG%: (16th / .466)
• Blocks: (23rd / 0.7)
 
Maceo Austin
• Steals: (3rd / 2.1)
• Scoring: (12th / 16.3)
• Assists: (13th / 3.2)
• Blocks: (13th / 0.9)
• FG%: (15th / .474)
• Rebounding: (18th / 6.1)
• FT%: (24th / .709)
 
O'Meech Wilson
• Blocks: (11th / 1.0)
 
Ike Herster
• FT%: (12th / .810)
• Scoring: (14th / 15.2)
• 3PT Made Per Game: (17th / 1.8)
• FG%: (22nd / .425)
 
Luke Howes
• Assist/Turnover Ratio: (8th / 1.7)
• Assists: (15th / 3.1)
 
RECORD WATCH
Steals (7-10)
7. Jamar Scales (2005-09): 138
8. Troy Mild (1980-84): 129
9. Micah Till (2017-20): 127
10. Jomo Goings: 119
 
Made 3-Pointers (10-15)
10. C. Russell (1987-91): 101
11. Shaun Grill (2002-04): 91
t12. Ike Herster: 89
t12. Jomo Goings: 89
14. Eroll Robinson (2005-09): 87
15. Lashon Lindsey (2019-24): 86
 
Games Played (10-15)
t10. Eroll Robinson (2005-09): 104
t10. Glenn Reepmeyer (2002-07): 104
t10. Jade Burka (2007-11): 104
t13. Bobby Clifford: 103
t13. Troy Mild (1980-84): 103
t13. Dave Freeman (1998-03): 103
 
Minutes (13-20)
13. Devin Taylor (2010-13): 2,341
14. Bobby Clifford: 2,321
15. Maron Brown (2008-11): 2,232
16. Shannon Pullium (1984-89): 2,188
17. Mark Metzka (1991-95): 2,184
18. William Johnson - 2002-05): 2,179
19. Micah Till (2017-20): 2,170
20. Jomo Goings: 2,128
 
NEXT FIVE GAMES
Jan. 22: vs. Indiana (Pa.) (7:30 p.m. / White Out Night)
Jan. 29: vs. Edinboro (3 p.m.)
Feb. 1: at Seton Hill (3 p.m.)
Feb: 8: vs. California (3 p.m. / Rock Athletic Club Game)
Feb. 12: vs. Gannon (7:30 p.m. / Black History Month)
 
CLARION PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 8-8
• PSAC Record: 3-7
• PSAC West Standings: 8th
• Home Record: 5-2
• Away Record: 2-6
• Neutral Site Record: 1-0
• Streak: L5
• Last 5 Games: 0-5
• Head Coach: Damian Pitts | Sixth season at Clarion (37-101, .268)
 
GOLDEN EAGLE LEADERS (Per Game)
SCORING: Cam Kearney (21.9), Jeremy Thomas II (12.2)
FG%: Thomas II (.563 / 67-119)
3PT%: Gavin Cote (.361 / 43-119)
ASSISTS: Trey Nelson (5.3)
REBOUNDS: Kearney (6.2)
STEALS: Nelson (1.6)
BLOCKS: Thomas II (1.8)



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