SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock saw an 11-point, first-half lead against Clarion University dissolve into a one-point deficit before re-taking the lead before halftime.

Darious Clark made sure this lead was not getting away.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard erupted for 18 points in the second half — including the team’s first nine of the half, then added three 3-pointers — in a 69-49 PSAC-West men’s basketball victory at Morrow Field House Wednesday.

Ironically, Clark, the team’s No. 2 scorer, played just five minutes in the first half after picking up a pair of fouls. In the second half, he needed just 13 minutes to do his damage.

“He didn’t even take a shot in the first half,” remarked SRU coach Kevin Reynolds, “but he has that capability. He was 7-of-11 from the field and 4 of 6 from the line.

“He’s been cold as of late. Hopefully, he’ll continue to be hot on Saturday (at Mercyhurst). We’re a lot better team when he scores. When he gets rolling, I don’t think there’s anyone better in Division II,” Reynolds added.

The Rock (15-5, 12-4) had used an 11-0 run — with scores by five different players, capped by a Sa’Quan Davis 3-pointer — to take a 23-12 lead with 10:21 left in the first half.

Ron Righter’s squad, however, chipped away, going on a 15-3 run — opened by a pair of baskets by Aaron Johnson and capped by a pair of free throws and two 3-pointers, all by Leonard Patterson, for a 27-26 Golden Eagles’ lead.

Devin Taylor countered with a 3-pointer to close out the half on a 7-0 spurt for a 33-27 SRU advantage.

Then, Clark took center stage.

Clark opened the half with a pair of baskets before Evan Battle answered with a score to make it a 37-29 game.

Clark followed with another basket and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions, then Aubin Reeves and Tabari Perry each connected on a pair of free throws to make it 46-29 with 16:44 remaining.

The Rock enjoyed its biggest lead of the night at 69-40 with 4:09 to play before the Eagles closed out the game by scoring the final nine points.

“This is a rivalry game,” Reynolds said. “You think that of a school that’s 40 miles away and the facilities and the funds are the same.

“We had never beat Clarion three times in a row. Five years ago, we had just lost 32 of 33 games against them ... When I got the job, they told me the one thing they wanted was to beat Clarion and Lock Haven. We’ve beaten Clarion seven of the 10 games since I’ve been here,” Reynolds added.

Clark led all scorers and added seven rebounds while Perry had 12 points, Reeves 11 points and seven assists and Gerald Brooks 11 points.

Luiz Santos chipped in with 12 rebounds and five blocks.

Clarion (5-15, 3-13) received 13 points from Johnson, 11 points and six rebounds from Battle and 10 points from Patterson.

Women’s Basketball Clarion 74 Slippery Rock 68

The momentum swung back and forth in the second half before the Golden Eagles went long in this PSAC-West matchup.

Clarion (11-11, 7-9) drained four 3-pointers over the final 6:13, including three by Emma Fickel to pull away.

(Fickel’s) a fantastic 3-point shooter,” said SRU coach Tanya Longo. “We just had some mental lapses with our defense.”

The game was knotted a 56 before Fickel drained a trey, then teammate Tania Holmes did likewise, then added another score for a 64-56 lead with 3:10 to play.

SRU’s Erica Aiello sank a 3-pointer to pull The Rock (4-12, 3-13) within five, but a free throw by Hannah Heeter and another 3-pointer by Fickel opened up a 68-59 lead with 1:36 to play that sealed the game.

The Rock went on a 9-2 run early in the game to take an 18-10 lead, but Clarion responded with a 14-0 run to take a 24-18 lead.

This game was a dramatic contrast to the first meeting, a 75-53 loss to the Eagles on Dec. 8.

“We did a much better job defensively,” Longo said. “And, our game plan was to stay in attack mode offensively. We didn’t do it as much as I would have liked.”

SRU’s Christa Wodarczyk also had a big game off the bench, leading all scorers with 19 points — including 5-for-5 from three-point range.

Erinne Cunningham added 13 points, Emilee Vitez 10 rebounds and Aiello had 12 assists for SRU while Heeter had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Holmes chipped in with 14 points, six assists and four steals for the Eagles.