Boxscore
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Junior guard
Maurice Douglas buried a three-point shot with 15 seconds left to play and then grabbed a game-ending defensive rebound Saturday afternoon to give the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team a 73-72 win over visiting Indiana (Pa.) in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action in Morrow Field House.
The shot also gave The Rock sole possession of second place in the final division standings and earned the Green and White the right to host a first-round conference tournament game Tuesday. Tipoff in Morrow Field House is set for 7 p.m.
That game will be a rematch of Saturday's barnburner and the third meeting this season between The Rock (20-7, 11-3 PSAC-W) and Indiana (21-6, 10-4 PSAC-W).
Indiana won a 94-78 decision in the teams' first meeting Jan. 31 in Indiana.
The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to semifinal action Friday, with that winner earning a berth in the conference championship game next Saturday, March 7.
The conference champion earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional tournament, which will be held the following week.
The winner of Tuesday's Indiana at Rock game could wind up hosting the semifinal and final rounds if PSAC-West champion Gannon falls to Edinboro in first-round action Tuesday.
Douglas' game-winning shot gave him a game-high 23 points in the game. Teammates
Denell Stephens and
Maron Brown each added a "double-double."
Stephens recorded his team-high 15th "double-D" with 20 points and 17 rebounds and also recorded three steals, while Brown chalked up his 11th "double-D" with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior point guard
Kyle Camper, the NCAA leader (all classifications) in assists, handed out nine Saturday to improve his PSAC-record season total to 286.
Thomas Young led Indiana in scoring with 18 points. Julian Sanders added 12 point, Gerald Brooks 11 points and Ashton Smith 10 points. Maurice Polen grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for the Crimson Hawks and Darryl Webb snared nine.
The teams traded scoring spurts and leads throughout Saturday's game as the lead changed hands a total of 12 times and the score was tied twice.
In a preview of the frenetic finish, Young buried a shot from well beyond the halfcourt line as the horn sounded to end the first half of action and sent the teams to the locker room separated by only one point: SRU 38, Indiana 37.
Douglas scored 12 first-half points for The Rock, while Stephens had 11 points and nine rebounds and Camper handed out six assists. Young had 14 points for Indiana.
The Rock scored the first four points of the game and remained in the lead for the first 13 minutes of action, highlighted by a 12-point (16-4) advantage with 14:45 left in the first half.
Indiana roared back with an 18-5 run in the next six-plus minutes to take its first lead, 22-21, at the 8:00 mark.
Three lead changes later, The Rock went on a 8-2 run to take a 32-26 lead with 3:30 left before halftime.
Indiana came right back and put together an 8-0 run to take a 34-32 lead with 1:45 left.
SRU scored five unanswered points in the final 105 seconds of the first half before Indiana's Thomas Young tossed in a shot from beyond halfcourt to trim The Rock lead to one point (38-37) at the intermission.
The Rock enjoyed a 23-13 rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes of action, during which both teams took good care of the basketball. SRU had six first-half turnovers, Indiana three.
The hosts shot 44.4% (16 of 36) from the field in the opening half, hit five of 14 (35.7%) from 3-point range and sank one of two free throws.
Indiana shot 51.7% (15 of 29) from field in the first half, hit four of six shots from beyond the arc and sank three of nine free throws.
The Rock finished the game with a 41.4% (29 of 70) efficiency on its action shots, hit 10 of 28 (35.7%) shots from beyond the arc and hit five of eight (62.5%) free throws.
Indiana ended the game with a 47.5% (29 of 61) reading on action shots, hit seven of 14 long-range shots and made seven fo 15 (46.7%) free throws.
Behind the lead of Stephens and Brown, The Rock enjoyed a 45-33 rebounding advantage. The hosts also finished on the lower end of a 12-9 turnover comparison.
Three and a half minutes into the second half of action, the score was tied at 47-47. The Rock then scored nine unanswered points and 16 of the next 21 points to take a 63-52 lead with 11 minutes left to play.
Indiana responded with a 13-2 run in the next five-plus minutes to tie the score at 65-65 with 5:15 remaining and followed that with a 7-3 difference in the next four minutes to take a 72-68 lead with 0:45 left.
A pair of free throws by Camper with 0:30 left trimmed the Crimson Hawks' lead to two points and ultimately set up Douglas' game-winning shot.
But the win wasn't totally safe until a last-second, contested layup by Brooks rolled over the rim and into the hands of the star of the game, Douglas.
Notes:
Saturday's win gave The Rock its first 20-win season since the 1990-91 team rang the victory bell 23 times in 32 games.
Saturday's win also gave the Green and White a 13-2 record in home games this winter.
Tuesday's game vs. Indiana will be the first PSAC tournament game hosted by The Rock since East Stroudsburg invaded Morrow Field House for a first-round game. The Rock won that game by a 77-63 margin.
The Rock is making its first appearance in the conference tournament since the 1999-2000 season, when the Green and White won two road games (73-54 at Clarion, 71-64 over Bloomsburg in Indiana) to earn a berth in the championship game. Ironically, The Rock met Indiana in that title game. SRU lost a 63-50 decision in Indiana to finish one game shy of a berth in the NCAA tournament.
The winner of The Rock-Indiana game will meet the winner of a first-round game between PSAC-East champion Kutztown (24-3) and Mansfield (15-11) in a semifinal game Friday. Other first-round games Tuesday will see PSAC-West champion Gannon (24-3) hosting Edinboro (18-9) and West Chester (18-9) making the short trip to Cheyney (17-8). Gannon will host the semifinal and final rounds if it can beat Edinboro. If the Golden Knights fall to the Fighting Scots, The Rock-Indiana winner would step into the host role for the final two rounds. The conference champion earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional tournament.
The Rock was 4-4 against this year's PSAC tournament field with season splits vs. division rivals Gannon, Indiana and Edinboro, a win over West Chester and a loss at Cheyney.
Ticket prices for PSAC tournament games are $7 for adults and $2 for students (grade school through college). Students with PSAC-member school ID cards will be admitted free.
