Final statistics

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Senior guard Michael Evans Jr. pumped in 25 points and junior forward Maron Brown added a “double-double” Monday night to lead the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team to a 78-74 win over visiting Seton Hill University in a non-conference battle of unbeaten NCAA Division II Atlantic Region teams in Morrow Field House.

The win was The Rock's third in as many games this winter and extended its regular-season win streak to 11 games.

Seton Hill, meanwhile, suffered its first loss in three outings this winter.

The Rock will go in search of its fourth win of the season Friday when it takes on winless (0-5) District of Columbia at 3:30 p.m. in opening-day action of the East Stroudsburg Classic.

That will be the first of five straight road games SRU will play before it returns home for a Dec. 30 date with Ohio University Eastern (3 p.m. tipoff).

Evans buried seven of 12 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and hit nine of 16 shots from the field overall Monday night.

Brown, meanwhile, collected 16 points and 10 rebounds for his first “double-double” of the season. He shared game-high honors in the latter category with senior teammate Jabril Bailey, who finished the game with eight points.

Senior guard Maurice Douglas added nine points, seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists to the winning effort and senior guard Andre Tarver contributed eight points and five assists.

Chris Giles scored a team-high 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out five assists for Seton Hill, Kellen Holmes had 12 points and Cody Boone chipped in eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Rock finished the game with a 46% (30-65) efficiency on its field goal attempts, hit 11 of 28 (39%) shots from 3-point range and made 47% (7 of 15) of its free throws.

Seton Hill, on the other hand, shot 42% (27-65) from the field, 21% (4-10) from 3-point range and 80% (16 of 20) from the foul line.

The teams battled to a 41-41 stalemate in rebounds and each took good care of the basketball as SRU finished the frenetic fray with only 13 turnovers and Seton Hill with only 12 miscues.

To say The Rock and Griffins engaged in a classic high-energy, nip-and-tuck, tooth-and-nail duel throughout the first 20 minutes of action, if not the entire game, would be a gross understatement.

The lead changed hands virtually every minute in the first stanza, 19 times to be precise. The score was also tied on eight occasions in the first half, the final time a 36-36 deadlock with 90 seconds left before intermission.

The Rock, after seeing Seton Hill erase a five-point (36-31) deficit in the span of 90 seconds, scored six of the final eight first-half points to take a 42-38 lead into halftime.

Back-to-back treys by Brown and Douglas capped The Rock run.

Evans finished the first half with 13 points, highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers, while Tarver added eight and Brown seven.

SRU hit 55% (16 of 29) shots from the field in the first half, nailed six of 12 long-range bombs and four of seven (57%) of its free throws.

Giles had nine points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes for Seton Hill.

The Griffins shot 44% (14 of 32) from the field, two of eight from beyond the arc and 73% (8-11) from the foul line in the first half.

The teams recharged their batteries during the break, then resumed their intense battle.

SRU came out of the locker room with an 8-2 run to open the second half of action and take a 10-point, 50-40, lead with 18:15 left to play.

Seton Hill refused to fold, though, as the guests scored seven unanswered points to trim the deficit to three, 52-49, with 15:15 remaining.

The Rock responded with a 7-2 run in the next 45 seconds to push the margin to eight, 59-51, with 13:30 left.

The Griffins came right back with a 16-9 run to take a 68-67 lead with eight minutes left.

Douglas and Bailey scored back-to-back baskets to put The Rock on top by three, 71-68, only to see Seton Hill respond with six unanswered points to take a 74-71 lead with four minutes left.

Evans then buried a trey to tie the score at 74-74 with 3:30 left before Brown scored what proved to be the winning points on an offensive rebound with 2:45 remaining.

Brown added two insurance tallies from the foul line with 27.3 seconds left to conclude the scoring.

Notes: The last Rock regular-season loss came Jan. 31, 2009, when the Green and White dropped a 94-78 decision at Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division rival Indiana (Pa.). ... Monday's win was the 24th recorded in two seasons by Kevin Reynolds-coached Rock teams. That win total ties Hank Baierl for the third highest recorded by a Rock head coach in his first two seasons.