Boxscore

ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst College outscored visiting Slippery Rock University by a 40-19 margin in the final 14 minutes Saturday afternoon to record a 71-58 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division men’s basketball action.

The Lakers (15-6 overall, 5-3 PSAC-West) trailed by a 39-31 margin before they went on the decisive run.

Saturday’s point total was the lowest of the season for The Rock, who entered the game ranked fourth in the PSAC in scoring offense at 80.6 points per game.

The loss was the third straight and eighth in the last 11 games for The Rock (13-8, 2-6) after a school-record 10-0 start to the season.

The Rock, which suffered its third straight loss and eighth in the last 11 games after a school-record 10-0 start to the season, will look to end the skid Wednesday when they return to Erie for a 7:30 p.m. division game against Gannon in the Hammermill Center.

The Green and White must win Wednesday’s game to have a realistic shot at earning a second straight trip to the conference playoffs.

Junior guard Jabril Bailey scored a game-high 20 points and blocked three shots to lead The Rock attack Saturday. Junior forward Maron Brown scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling out, senior guard Michael Evans Jr. added 12 points, all in the first half of action, and senior guard Andre Tarver snared a team-high eight rebounds.

The Rock finished the game with a 34% (17-50) efficiency in its field goal attempts that included a 31% (8-26) showing from 3-point range and made 16 of 25 (64%) free throws. SRU made only one of eight 3-point shots in the second half of action.

Mercyhurst, meanwhile, shot 38% (24-63) from the field, 29% (5-17) from 3-point range and 69% (18-26) from the foul line.

The Lakers had a 43-37 advantage in rebounds and turned the ball over less by a 17-14 margin.

The Rock led throughout the first half of action after Mercyhurst scored the first two points of the game.

A 9-0 Rock run following the Lakers’ game-opening tallies gave The Rock a seven-point lead after four minutes had elapsed.

Mercyhurst closed the deficit to two points, 23-21, with four minutes left in the opening stanza before SRU scored six unanswered points to push the margin to eight, 29-21, and took a 29-23 lead into the intermission.

That appeared to be a good omen for the Green and White, who had won all 11 games it led at halftime prior to Saturday’s action.

The Rock hit seven of 18 shots (38%) from beyond the 3-point arc in the first 20 minutes of action and was only 2-of-9 on two-point attempts to finish the half with a 33% overall accuracy from the field. SRU was four of eight from the foul line

Mercyhurst shot an icy 26% (8-31) from the field in the first half that included a 2-for-12 (17%) showing on 3-point attempts and was five of six from the foul line.

Evans Jr. hit three treys and scored 12 points off the bench, including nine straight at one point, to lead The Rock’s first-half effort.

Bailey, who picked up two quick fouls and played sparingly in the first half, scored all The Rock’s points in a 6-0 run midway through the second half that gave SRU a 39-31 lead after Mercyhurst had trimmed the deficit back to two points, 33-31.

The Rock then went scoreless for a span of six minutes as the hosts took over control of the game.

The final 13-point margin was the largest lead held by the Lakers in the game.