Dec. 28, 2005

Box Score

Ashland, Ohio - A balanced scoring attack did not prove to be the recipe for success Wednesday night as The Rock dropped an 83-80 decision to Lincoln Memorial University (Tenn.) in the first round of the Holiday Inn Express Classic hosted by Ashland University.

Erroll Robinson led The Rock attack with a game-high 23 points. Joseph Vines added 14 points and seven rebounds in a substitute role, while starter Brandon Thompson chipped in 12 points and starter Matt Hale and super sub Jamar Scales scored 10 points each.

Hale also handed out six assists, while Matt Schaefer had four assists.

Dejan Jancic led The Rock in rebounding with nine.

The Rock and Railsplitters battled on even terms for the first five minutes before SRU went on a 22-7 run to take a 15-point, 29-14, lead at the 8:35 mark of the first half.

The Rock held a double-digit lead for the next six minutes and enjoyed a 41-31 advantage with 2:30 left in the half before Lincoln Memorial trimmed the margin to seven points (43-36) at intermission.

SRU pushed its lead back to double digits in the early portion of the final stanza and held a 12-point, 63-51, advantage with 10:30 left to play.

Five and a half minutes later, though, the lead was completely gone as Lincoln Memorial outscored SRU by a 32-17 margin down the stretch.

SRU (1-9) will seek to bounce back and snap an eight-game losing streak when it meets Malone (Ohio) College at 6 p.m. Thursday in the consolation game of the tournament.

Hosting Ashland (9-3) won a 93-67 decision over Malone (4-10) in Wednesday's second game to earn a spot opposite Lincoln Memorial (2-8) in Thursday's championship game.

After meeting Malone on Thursday, The Rock is idle until Jan. 7, when it will visit Cheyney for a 3 p.m. Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference "crossover" game.

The Rock closes out its "crossover" weekend with a 3 p.m. game on Jan. 8 at Millersville.