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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team survived a second-half scare from Clarion thanks to a Brady Mayo 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining in regulation as part of an 80-78 victory over the Golden Eagles Wednesday at Morrow Field House.
 
The victory was Slippery Rock's second in as many games, lifting its record to 15-8 overall and 8-7 inside the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference while Clarion dropped to 11-12 overall and 6-9 in league competition.
 
SRU's win, combined with other results from around the conference on Wednesday, also put Slippery Rock in sole possession of fourth place in the PSAC West standings with five games left in the regular season.
 
The top six teams in both the Western Division and Eastern Division standings at the end of the regular season qualify for the PSAC Tournament. The first and second seeds in the standings earn first-round byes and a home game in the quarterfinal round while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds are guaranteed home games in the first round.
 
Additionally, Slippery Rock is also now assured of finishing the year with a winning record for the 16th time in the last 17 completed seasons including each of the last seven years under head coach Ian Grady.

Slippery Rock appeared poised to run away with Wednesday's game as it stretched a seven-point halftime advantage out to a 70-49 lead with 9:25 remaining in regulation.
 
However, Clarion erased its 21-point deficit by scoring 29 of the following 36 points, including a pair Aydan Cunningham free throws that put the Golden Eagles up 78-77 with 19 seconds showing on the clock and The Rock without any timeouts.
 
Following Cunningham's second foul shot, Dame Givner brought the ball up the length of the court before driving to the basket and kicking a pass out to Mayo in the right corner. Mayo released a perfect jumper over the out-stretched hand of Kendon Peebles for a 3-pointer that gave SRU an 80-78 lead with just 4.7 seconds showing on the clock.
 

MBB: BRADY MAYO SAVES THE DAY! Clarion controlled the final 10 minutes to take 1-point lead with seconds to play only for Mayo to hit a corner 3-pointer and come up with a steal at the buzzer! Final score SRU 80 - Clarion 78. pic.twitter.com/VXqrcFEnFy

— Rock Athletics (@Rock_Athletics) February 12, 2026

 
Mayo's heroics did not end at the go-ahead basket. The freshman guard also hustled down the floor and corralled an errant Clarion pass as time expired to put the finishing touches on the two-point win.

Not only did The Rock enjoy their third highest overall shooting percentage of the year Wednesday (.554 / 31-of-56), they also converted a season-best 46.7 percent (7-of-15) of their 3-point attempts.
 
As was the case in its win at Clarion earlier in the year, Slippery Rock again dominated the glass in its season-sweep clinching win of the Golden Eagles in the form of a +12 (40-28) rebounding margin. 11 of the 40 rebounds were of the offensive variety that resulted in 13 second chance points.
 
Despite committing 10 more turnovers than Clarion (19-9), Slippery Rock still made the most of the Golden Eagles' miscues with 14 points off turnovers compared to Clarion's 12.
 
In addition to scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers, Mayo also collected four steals, passed out four assists and grabbed four rebounds. Mayo has now scored at least 12 points in five of The Rock's last six games.
 
Kerwin Prince logged his second consecutive double-double via a 17-point, 10-rebound night that saw one of the PSAC's top low post options convert 7-of-9 free throw attempts while going 5-of-9 from the floor.
 
Givner (13) and Isaac James (14) also finished in double figures, with James pulling in five rebounds and Givner dishing out five assists to go with seven rebounds of his own all the while shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from distance.
 
RJ Sledge, Mack Staunch and Braylon Littlejohn chipped in six points apiece. Sledge also delivered three assists and made three steals. In what was arguably his top performance of the year, Staunch registered six rebounds including four on the offensive glass.

Clarion ended the game shooting 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the field overall, 34.5 percent (10-of-29) from 3-point range and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) at the foul line. Trey Nelson nearly pulled off his second career triple-double against The Rock, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals to pace the Clarion attack.
 
With its three-game homestand now completed, Slippery Rock begins a two-game road swing 3 p.m. Saturday at Indiana University (Pa.). The Rock will look to earn a season-split with IUP after losing at home to the Crimson Hawks, 89-73, earlier in the year.




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