Feb. 21, 2007

Final Stats

Slippery Rock, Pa. - The Rock battled division-leading California U. of Pa. to the wire Wednesday night before it fell by a 65-63 score in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Morrow Field House.

Glenn Reepmeyer, one of two SRU seniors who played their final home game on Wednesday, paced The Rock effort with 16 points and 10 rebounds and recorded his 10th "double-double" of the season.

Three other Rock players also finished with double-figure scoring efforts. Jamar Scales had 12 points and eight rebounds, while Kenny Smith and Joseph Vines added 11 points each.

Wednesday's loss dropped The Rock's season records to 5-21 overall, 2-9 in PSAC-Western Division action.

California improved its records to 21-5 overall, 9-2 in division play.

The Rock will close out its 2006-07 schedule with a 3 p.m. division game Sunday at Clarion.

Wednesday's game

Wednesday's game was filled with wild runs by both teams.

The Rock scored the first nine points of the game before California responded with an 12-2 run to take a 12-11 edge with 11:30 left in the first half.

SRU bounced right back to record a 21-7 run in the next 10 minutes and enjoyed a 14-point (32-18) cushion with 1:15 left before halftime.

The Rock lead at intermission was 10 points, 32-22,

The hosts extended their lead to 13 points (39-26) four minutes into second-half action before California put together a 21-7 run to take a 47-46 edge with 10:45 left in the game.

Three minutes later, California had a six-point (56-50) lead, only to see The Rock rally with a 9-2 run to retake the lead, 59-58, with 2:45 left.

California quickly regained the lead and never trailed thereafter.

Notes: Wednesday's loss was sixth SRU suffered this season by a margin of three or less points. Two other losses came in overtime games ... The two-point loss represented a 21-point improvement over The Rock's effort in its first meeting with California this winter. SRU lost a 79-56 decision Jan. 29 in California ... Reepmeyer and fellow senior Brandon Thompson were honored prior to the game for their contributions to The Rock program. Reepmeyer is a fourth-year member of the Green and White program, while Thompson is completing his third season at SRU after starting his collegiate career at Western Michigan ...