The Rock Lock Up Home Playoff Game

Rock men lock up home playoff game with 73-69 win at Seton Hill


GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men’s basketball team assured itself of a home Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference postseason tournament home game with a 73-69 win Saturday afternoon over hosting Western Division rival Seton Hill University.

The win improved The Rock’s season record to 19-8 overall and 10-5 in PSAC-West action and guaranteed the Green and White no worse than a fourth-place finish in the division standings.

If The Rock, who host nationally-ranked (Pa.) in the regular-season finale Wednesday (8 p.m. tipoff) in Morrow Field House, remain in the No. 4 spot, they will host Seton Hill in a first-round postseason game March 1.

Should The Rock finish third in the division standings, they would host either Pitt-Johnstown or California (Pa.) in first-round action. The latter two teams are currently tied for sixth place and the final PSAC-West postseason berth.

With the loss Saturday, Seton Hill dropped to 15-10 overall and 7-8 in division action. The Griffins are assured of a fifth-place finish in the division standings.

Maurice Lewis-Briggs

Senior point guard Josh Martin scored a team-high 23 points, one point shy of his season-high mark, to lead The Rock’s winning effort Saturday. Senior center Maurice Lewis-Briggs added 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds, redshirt junior guard Antonio Butler contributed 15 points and senior swingman Tabari Perry added eight points and five rebounds.

Tabari Perry

Butler scored on a layup with 0:37 left to play to put The Rock up by a 70-68 score and came back on the next possession to hit a pair of free throws to ultimately ice the win.

Malachi Leonard scored a game-high 25 points and snared five rebounds to lead Seton Hill’s attack, while Max Kenyi added 12 points and six rebounds.

Leonard entered the game as the PSAC’s top rebounder with a 9.1 per game average and was tied with Lewis-Briggs for seventh place among conference scorers with a 17.0 points per game average.

The Rock made 24 of 51 (48%) shots from the field and four of eight attempts from 3-point range.

The winning margin came from the foul line, where SRU sank 21 of 27 (78%) shots.

Seton Hill made 29 of 56 (52%) of its field goal attempts with a 4-for-14 (29%) efficiency from long range. The Griffins made seven of nine (78%) free throws.

SRU enjoyed a 33-23 rebounding advantage, but was on the high end of a 14-12 turnover comparison.

The Rock trailed by three points (32-29) at halftime and did not take their lead until the 18:45 mark in the second half when a pair of free throws by Lewis-Briggs put the Green and White on top by a 35-34 score.

Three lead changes later, The Rock scored eight unanswered points to take a 49-43 lead with 13:15 left to play.

The Rock had a nine-point, 57-48, lead with 11 minutes left, only to see Seton Hill go on a 14-4 run to take a short-lived 62-61 lead at the 4:20 mark.

The lead changed hands four times in the next two-plus minutes before a Lewis-Briggs free throw knotted the count at 68-68 with 1:41 remaining.

Butler’s layup with 0:37 left gave The Rock a 70-68 lead and opened a 5-1 Rock run down the stretch to ice the win.

Notes: The Rock are one win away from reaching the 20-win mark for the second consecutive season, the fourth time in six campaigns under current head coach Kevin Reynolds and only the seventh in school history … Wednesday’s game will be White Out Night and also men’s basketball Senior Night at Morrow Field House. The Rock’s four seniors (Lewis-Briggs, Martin, Perry and guard Sa’Quan Davis) will be honored prior to the opening tipoff. Special White Out Night t-shirts are on sale at the SGA Bookstore in the Robert M. Smith Student Center for $5. White Out Night is co-sponsored by the Bookstore and The Grove apartment complex … The Rock’s first-round PSAC tournament game will tipoff at 7 p.m. March 1, according to Paul Lueken, SRU’s director of athletics.

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Fax: 724.738.4761
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Rock Men Beat Pitt Johnstown, Lock Playoff Berth

Rock men beat UPJ, lock up PSAC playoff berth

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University’s men’s basketball team made a jaw-dropping 95.7% of its free throws Saturday afternoon en route to an 88-77 win over visiting Pitt-Johnstown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action in Morrow Field House.

SRU sank its first six charity tosses before senior guard Sa’Quan Davis missed the first of a two-shot opportunity at the midway mark of the second half.

The Rock then coolly canned the final 16 shots from the foul line to finish the game with a 22-of-23 efficiency that is believed to be the best in program history.

SRU’s hot shooting touch wasn’t confined to just the charity stripe, though. The Green and White also made 48% (28 of 58) of its field-goal attempts and a 48% (10 of 21) showing from 3-point range in the process of improving its season records to 17-7 overall and 8-4 in PSAC West action.

Most importantly, Saturday’s win assured The Rock of a fourth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament and the fifth postseason trip in six seasons under head coach Kevin Reynolds’ leadership.

The top six teams in the division standings at the conclusion of regular-season play Feb. 26 advance to the conference’s single-elimination tournament.

The Rock currently stand alone in fourth place in the division standings and travel to third-place Mercyhurst (12-9, 8-3 PSAC-West) for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday.

Like The Rock, Pitt-Johnstown (12-10 overall, 5-7 PSAC West) also shot the basketball well from the field Saturday. The Mountain Cats made 46% (27 of 59) of their action shots and hit 40% (6 of 15) of their 3-point attempts, but struggled from the foul line, where they made 17 of 25 (68% ).

The Rock also held a 36-31 advantage in rebounds to offset 10 turnovers, compared to nine miscues for the guests.

Senior center Maurice Lewis-Briggs again led The Rock effort with team-high totals of 17 points and eight rebounds. Lewis-Briggs was 5-for-5 on foul shots.

Junior guard Antonio Butler contributed 16 points, all of which came in the second half of action, with six rebounds and a 4-for-4 showing from the foul line in a substitute role and junior forward Kelvin Dixon had 14 points with a 7-for-7 performance at the foul line.

Senior swingman Tabari Perry chipped in 10 points (2-for-2 at the foul line), sophomore swingman Erik Raleigh scored nine points (1-for-1 at the line) and six rebounds, while Davis added nine points and six assists with a 3-for-4 effort at the foul line.

Ian Vescovi scored a game-high 23 points for Pitt-Johnstown while Bill Luther added 13 points and Matt Palo chipped in 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.

The Rock appeared to have the game well in hand midway through the first half of action thanks to a 17-2 run that gave the hosts a 24-10 lead with 9:30 left before the intermission.

But UPJ refused to  go quietly and outscored SRU by a 25-17 margin in the final nine-plus minutes of the first half to trim the margin to six points, 41-35, at halftime.

The guests carried their momentum over the start of the second half of action as they scored the first 10 points to take a 45-41 lead with 17:15 left to play.

Five lead changes and four lead changes later, The Rock regained the lead for good on a layup by Lewis-Briggs with 7:30 remaining.

That basket started a 7-0 Rock run that pushed SRU’s lead to six, 64-58, one minute later before Pitt-Johnstown made its final run and trimmed the gap to three points, 68-65, with 4:15 left.

The Rock sank 10 consecutive free throws and had two layups and two 3-point shots in the final four minutes to ice the win.

SRU’s next home game is Feb. 19, when Edinboro comes to town for an 8 p.m. game.

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Fax: 724.738.4761
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

SRU's Lewis-Briggs Earns Basketball Honor

Rock's Lewis-Briggs earns PSAC West men's basketball weekly honor

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University’s senior center Maurice Lewis-Briggs was named Monday as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division men’s basketball “Athlete of the Week.”

Lewis-Briggs averaged 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in two PSAC West games last week while shooting 54% from the field and 62% from the foul line.

A 6-foot-8, 240-pound native of Norristown and graduate of Norristown High School, Lewis-Briggs had 29 points and 12 rebounds in last Saturday’s last-second loss at 15th-ranked Indiana (Pa.). Three nights earlier, Lewis-Briggs scored 18 points and snared nine rebounds in a last-minute win over Seton Hill.

Lewis-Briggs sank a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left to play to account for the winning points in the latter game.

A transfer student from Division I Morehead State University, Lewis-Briggs currently leads The Rock in scoring with a 16.6 points per game average and ranks second on the team in rebounding with a 7.5 per game average. He ranks 11th in the PSAC in scoring and ninth in rebounding.

The first Rock men’s basketball student-athlete to earn a PSAC weekly honor this winter, Lewis-Briggs has scored 10 or more points in nine consecutive games and 16 of The Rock’s 20 games.

During that string of nine games in which The Rock won seven games, Lewis-Briggs has averaged 20.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

Lewis-Briggs has also grabbed 10 or more rebounds in five games, all of which came in games he scored 10 or more points. As a result, Lewis-Briggs has recorded a team-high five doubles-doubles this winter.

The high-water marks in Lewis-Briggs’ season thus far have been a 32-point performance in a Dec. 21 win at Cheyney and a 15-rebound effort in the Jan. 3 loss at Millersville.

Behind Lewis- Briggs’ lead, The Rock have compiled a 15-5 overall record this winter. The Green and White currently own a share of first place in the PSAC West standings with a 6-2 division record. SRU is tied with Gannon, Indiana and Mercyhurst for the top spot.

The Rock return to action Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. division game at Clarion University (3-13 overall, 1-7 PSAC West) before hosting California, Pa. (8-10, 3-5) in a 3 p.m. game Saturday in Morrow Field House.

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Fax: 724.738.4761
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

SRU Student Athlete Grady Named to NABC Honors Court

SRU's Jordan Grady named to NABC Honors Court

Rock redshirt sophomore men's basketball student-athlete Jordan Grady was named Wednesday as a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Honors Court for his academic performance

7/17/2013

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Slippery Rock University redshirt sophomore men's basketball student-athlete Jordan Grady was named Wednesday as a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Honors Court.

The Honor Court recognizes "collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the 2012-13 season," according to an NABC press release, and pays tribute to "the talents and gifts these men possess off the court, and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom."

In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must academically be a junior or senior on an NCAA Division I, II or II or NAIA Division I or II varsity basketball team and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year.

Grady, a junior from Cumberland, Md., appeared in 13 Rock games last winter after transferring from Garrett College in his home state.

A 6-foot-4, 215-pound graduate of Allegany High School, Grady averaged 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last winter for The Rock's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference runner-up and NCAA tournament-qualifying squad.

Grady was named as the PSAC-Western Division "Freshman of the Week" after he recorded season-high totals of 11 points and 12 rebounds in The Rock's home win Dec. 30, 2012 over Ohio University Eastern.

A junior business-finance major academically at SRU, Grady is the younger brother of Rock Assistant Men's Basketball Coach Ian Grady.

Grady was the second Rock men's basketball student-athlete to earn NABC Honors Court recognition in the last two seasons. He joined John Bossle, a senior on the 2011-12 Rock squad, in that elite group.

All told, more than 700 student-athletes from 287 colleges and universities were named as members of the 2012-13 NABC Honors Court. Grady was one of only five PSAC student-athletes honored.

--
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

SRU Upsets Winston-Salem State in First NCAA Win

Rock men upset #16 Winston-Salem State, 69-67, to record first-ever NCAA tournament opening-round tournament win

Devin Taylor had game-high totals of 27 points and 15 rebounds and Tabari Perry scored the game-winning points on a layup with 2.6 seconds left Saturday to lift SRU (23-8) to victory

WEST LIBERTY,   W. Va. – Slippery Rock University recorded its first-ever NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament opening-round victory Saturday afternoon with a 69-67 win over 16th-ranked Winston-Salem State University in the Atlantic Regional hosted by West Liberty University.

With the win over the second-seeded Rams (21-7), the sixth-seeded Rock improved their season record to 23-8 and matched the school record shared by three previous teams for single-season wins.

Most importantly, the Green and White earned a berth in Sunday’s 5 p.m. second-round game, in which they will meet Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Indiana U. of Pa. for the fourth time this season.

Third-seeded IUP (25-5), winners of two of the three previous meetings with SRU this winter and the No. 10 team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Division II national ranking, advanced to Sunday’s action with a 76-68 win over conference rival East Stroudsburg, the No. 6 seed, in Saturday’s first opening-round game.

Junior swingman Tabari Perry drove the left  baseline and scored off an assist from junior guard Sa’Quan Davis with 2.6 seconds left to play to account for the winning points in The Rock’s win Saturday.

Perry then put the exclamation point on the win when he blocked a last-second jump shot by Winston-Salem State standout Justin Glover and grabbed the loose ball as the final horn sounded.

Devin Taylor

Senior forward Devin Taylor recorded game-high totals of 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead The Rock attack, while both Perry and senior forward Gerald Brooks finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Joe Thompson muscled his way to team-high totals of 19 points and 11 rebounds for Winston-Salem State, while Glover had 15 points and six rebounds and Michel-Ofik Nzege chipped in 13 points and six rebounds.

The Rock shot 39% (23 of 59) from the field, made three of 14 (11%) shots from 3-point range and sank 20 of 27 (74%) free throws in the game.

SRU also won the rebounding battle by a 46-40 margin, but were on the high side of an 11-8 turnover comparison.

Winston-Salem State made 35% (24 of 68) of its action shots with a 6-of-15 showing from 3-point range

and hit 13 of 21 (62%) free throws.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

SRU's Taylor Named to All-Region Honor

SRU's Devin Taylor earns Daktronics all-region honor

Rock senior men's basketball forward Devin Taylor was named to D2SIDA Daktronics Division II Atlantic Region second-team honors by the region's sports information directors

3/14/2013

FAIRMONT, W. Va. – Slippery Rock University men's basketball senior forward Devin Taylor was named Thursday as a D2SIDA Daktronics Division II Atlantic Region second-team performer in voting by the region's sports information directors.

Taylor is The Rock's leading scorer and rebounder with per-game averages of 14.2 points and 10.0 rebounds. He ranks second among PSAC players and 12th among all Division II players in rebounds.

A native of New Castle and graduate of New Castle High School, Taylor also leads The Rock in “double-doubles” (10 or more points and 10 or more rebounds in the same game) with 13.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Taylor is shooting 47% from the field, 24% from 3-point range and 77% from the foul line. He also has 28 assists, 24 blocked shots and 22 steals in 29 games this winter.

A first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division selection in both 2012 and 2013 and National Association of Basketball Coaches second-team all-region selection in 2012, Taylor ranks 13th on SRU's career rebounding chart with 720 and is 14th in career scoring with 1,107 points in his three-year Rock career.

Taylor began his collegiate career at La Roche College, where he scored 379 points and grabbed 201 rebounds in two seasons. He was granted a fifth season of eligibility last summer by the NCAA.

Behind Taylor's lead, The Rock compiled a 22-8 overall record this winter, tied for second place in PSAC-Western Division regular-season competition and claimed a runner-up finish in the conference's postseason tournament.

Taylor and The Rock will make their second appearance in NCAA Division II regional competition this weekend. SRU, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, meets second-seeded Winston-Salem State (21-6) in a 2:30 p.m. first-round game Saturday at West Liberty University.

The D2SIDA all-region and All-America teams are sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. Members of D2SIDA, the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors Association, select the teams.

The complete first- and second-team D2SIDA Daktronics Division II All-Atlantic Region team roster included:

First Team
* Alex Falk, West Liberty (Sr., G, Upper Sandusky, Ohio)
Whis Grant, East Stroudsburg (So., G, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.)
Trevin Parks, Johnson C. Smith (Sr., G, Hickory, N.C.)
Angelo Sharpless, Elizabeth City State (Sr., G, Plymouth, N.C.)
Byron Westmorland, Bowie State (Sr., F, Baltimore, Md.)
* Atlantic Region Player of the Year

Second Team
Cedric Harris, West Liberty (Jr., G, Zanesville, Ohio)
Luis Leao, Mercyhurst (Sr., F, Brusque, Brazil)
Chad Moore, Shepherd (Sr., F, Winchester, Va.)
Nick Novak, Pitt-Johnstown (Sr., G, Murrysville, Pa.)
Devin Taylor, Slippery Rock (Sr., F., New Castle, Pa.)
Isaac Thornton, Fairmont State (Sr., G, Martinsburg, W.Va.)
Kelsey Williams, West Virginia Wesleyan (Sr., F, Sandusky, Ohio)

--
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Gerald Brooks Player of the Week

Brooks earns PSAC-West weekly honor

Rock senior forward Gerald Brooks was named Monday as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division "Player of the Week" after averaging 13.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in two SRU wins last week

2/18/2013

Gerald Brooks

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University senior forward Gerald Brooks was named Monday as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division men's basketball “Player of the Week.”

A 6-foot-5, 230-pound native of Pittsburgh and graduate of Schenley High School, Brooks earned the honor by averaging 13.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in two Rock wins last week.

Brooks scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in SRU's 94-76 home win over Lock Haven Feb. 13 and had 11 points and 13 rebounds in last Saturday's win over Edinboro in Morrow Field House.

Brooks shot 42% (11 of 26) from the field and 83% (5 of 6) from the foul line in last week's action. He was 0-for-3 on 3-point shots and handed out four assists.

Behind Brooks' lead, SRU was the only PSAC-West men's team to record a pair of victories in as many games last week and, more importantly, remained tied for second place in the PSAC-West standings.

The Rock, owners of 17-6 overall and 14-5 PSAC records, share the No. 2 spot with Gannon (20-5, 14-5), one game behind division-leading Indiana, Pa. (19-4, 15-4) with three games remaining on each team's regular-season schedule.

SRU travels to sixth-place California, Pa. (10-13, 9-10) for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday before meeting IUP and Gannon back-to-back in the final regular-season games. The Rock host IUP in a 3 p.m. game Saturday, then travel to Erie for a 7:30 p.m. game at Gannon Feb. 27.

The Rock are also assured of playing at least one game in the PSAC tournament. The postseason berth is the third consecutive claimed by the Green and White and fourth in five seasons under head coach Kevin Reynolds.

Brooks, a 2012-13 Basketball Times Preseason All-Americas selection, is currently averaging 12.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in his first season with The Rock. He ranks second on the team in rebounding, third on the team in scoring and fourth among PSAC players in rebounds.

Prior to joining The Rock, Brooks earned three All-PSAC-West honors at IUP. He was the division's Rookie of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors in 2006-07 before claiming first-team All-PSAC-West honors in both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

Brooks scored 1,103 points and grabbed 544 rebounds in three seasons at IUP. He ranks 15th on the school's career rebounds list and is 20th in career scoring.

This winter at SRU, Brooks has scored 10 or more points in 13 of the 17 games in which he has played and has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in eight games.
--
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Clark, Rock Cruise in Kutztown Win

Clark-led Rock cruise to 99-76 win over Kutztown

Darious Clark scored 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting to lead Slippery Rock to a 99-76 win over Kutztown Saturday night

1/12/2013

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. --  Senior guard Darious Clark (Clinton, Md./Surrattsville HS) buried seven 3-point shots en route to a 33-point scoring night Saturday night to lead hosting Slippery Rock University to a 99-76 win over Kutztown University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's basketball crossover action in Morrow Field House.

Clark was one of five Rock players who finished the game with double-figure scoring totals as The Rock improved their season records to 10-3 overall and 7-2 in conference action and remained tied with 21st-ranked Indiana (Pa.) for first place in the PSAC-Western Division standings.

Senior forward Devin Taylor (New Castle/New Castle HS) scored 16 points and five rebounds, senior center Luiz Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/College Avanco) had 14 points and six rebounds, senior forward Gerald Brooks (Pittsburgh/Schenley HS) added 12 points and 10 rebounds, junior guard Sa'Quan Davis (Washington, D.C./Suitland HS) hit three treys en route to an 11-point outing and senior guard Aubin Reeves (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone HS) handed out eight assists.

Micah Fraction scored a game-high 35 points for Kutztown, which sustained its fifth consecutive loss and saw its season records drop to 3-12, 2-7. Tracy Peal added 13 points for the Golden Bears.

The Rock hit 54.5% (36-66) of their field-goal attempts, including an 11-of-20 (55%) efficiency from 3-point range, and canned 16 of 20 free throws.

The hosts also outrebounded their guests by a 42-30 margin, the 12th time in 13 games this winter the Green and White have ruled the backboards.

SRU committed 13 turnovers, compared to 11 for Kutztown, and recorded 10 blocked shots. Junior swingman Tabari Perry ejected three shots, Taylor and Santos each swatted down two attempts and Brooks, Clark and Reeves each had one block.

Kutztown finished the game with a 42% (26-62) efficiency on its field-goal attempts, with a 6-of-17 (35%) showing from beyond the arc, and made 69% (18-26) of its free throws.

The Rock never trailed in the game as they scored the first four points. Kutztown trimmed the lead to one point. 7-6, with 17:30 left to play in the first half and trailed by only six points, 22-26, with 12 minutes left before the intermission.

SRU then ran off 15 answered points in the span of four minutes to take a 37-16 lead. Kutztown never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

The Rock built their 37-16 lead on a 15-of-20 efficiency from the field that included a 7-of-11 effort from 3-point range in the first 12 minutes of action.

The margin was 22 points, 50-28, at halftime and grew as large as 31 points (75-44 with 10:30 left to play).

Saturday's game marked the end of this winter's PSAC crossover series. The Rock, who won six of the eight games against PSAC-Eastern Division rivals, open their PSAC-Western Division schedule with a Wednesday road trip to Lock Haven (6-6 overall, 4-5 PSAC). Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.

The Rock return home next Saturday, to host Mercyhurst in a 3 p.m. game. Mercyhurst currently owns a 10-5 overall record and, with a 6-3 conference record, is tied with Gannon (12-3) for third place in the PSAC-West standings, one game behind The Rock and Indiana.

Notes: Clark's treys total Saturday night was one shy of the school record shared by three players, mostly recently by Michael Evans Jr. vs. Ashland University in the 2008-09 season … Clark's points total was the highest recorded by a Rock player since Jan. 29, 2011, when All-America performer Maron Brown scored 33 at Edinboro University … Taylor ranks 18th on The Rock's career rebounding list with 572, two behind Peyton Tomblin (574 from  1971-74) and five behind Curt Williams (577 from 1984-88) … Taylor is 130 points away from becoming the 22nd player in Rock men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points … The Rock's win total after 13 games this winter is one shy of the best-ever, 11-2 start recorded by six teams and one win better than the starts for the 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2011-12 teams that earned berth in the PSAC tournament.

--
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh