Boxscore

Cumulative statistics

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Junior forward Maron Brown recorded a 20-point, 18-rebound “double-double” Sunday afternoon but could not lead the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team to victory.

The Rock lost a 92-83 decision to hosting West Chester in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference “crossover” action.

The loss was SRU's second in the last three games and dropped the Green and White's season record to 11-2, which matches the best start in school history.

The Rock will look to bounce back and open the PSAC-West schedule on a winning note Wednesday when it hosts Mercyhurst (10-3) in an 8 p.m. game in Morrow Field House.

Sunday's win was the second straight for West Chester (11-2). The Golden Rams won its first nine games of the season and were ranked 25th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II national poll in late December before losing back-to-back decisions Jan. 2 and 3 at California and Indiana.

Maron Brown, who recorded his fifth “double-double” of the season and recorded a career-high rebound total, was one of four Rock players to finish Sunday's game with a double-digit scoring total. Junior guard Jabril Bailey scored 17 points, all in the second half of action, senior guard Cecil Brown had 14 points and senior guard Andre Tarver added 12 points.

Ralph Hegamin scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for West Chester.

The Rock shot a respectable 40% (21-53) from the field, including a 9-of-32 (28%) efficiency from 3-point range, and had season-high totals in all three free throw shooting categories with a 32-of-38, 84% accuracy from the foul line.

West Chester made 38% (28-73) of its field goal attempts, including a 44% (8-18) showing from beyond the arc, and sank 28 of 40 (70%) of its free throws.

There were a total of 59 personal fouls called in the game, 30 on West Chester and 29 on The Rock, and two technical fouls assessed against The Rock.

SRU held a 45-42 rebounding edge but had almost twice as many turnovers, 19-10.

The Rock trailed by one point, 36-35, at the end of a tightly contested first half of action that saw the lead change hands five times and the score tied on four occasions.

SRU held an 8-3 lead early on before West Chester scored 12 unanswered points to take a 15-8 lead with 13 minutes left before halftime.

The Rock responded to that Golden Rams run with a 15-2 run of its own to regain the lead at 23-20 with 7:45 remaining before the intermission.

West Chester came right back with a 13-2 run in the next five minutes to take a 33-25 lead with just less than three minutes left in the half before an 8-0 Rock run tied the score at 33-33 with 90 seconds left before halftime.

The hosts scored the next four points before Evans Jr. sank two free throws to set the score at intermission.

SRU made 46% (11-24) of its field goal attempts in the first half, primarily from beyond the arc, where the Green and White were 7-of-17 (41%). The Rock also sank six of eight free throws.

West Chester shot 31% (13-42) from the field, 46% (6-13) from 3-point range, and a frigid 44% (4-9) from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes.

SRU, after being dominated on the boards in the early going, bounced back and held a 24-23 edge in that category at halftime, but had three times as many turnovers, 12-4.

Cecil Brown led The Rock in scoring in the first half with eight points, Maron Brown had seven points and 11 rebounds, Tarver also had seven points and senior guard Bryen Spriggs added five points and seven rebounds.

The Rock never led in the second half, but did tie the score at both 42 and 44. A 6-0 West Chester run started by a technical foul shot assessed for Bailey hanging on the rim after a dunk with 14:30 left to play put The Rock in a hole from which it would be climb.

SRU trailed by at least six points the remainder of the game and trailed by as many as 13 points in the final 14-plus minutes.

Notes:

The Rock's win-loss record after 13 games this winter matches that of four previous SRU men's teams. The 1945-46, 1952-53, 1963-64 and 1971-72 teams also had 11-2 records ... Second-year Rock head coach Kevin Reynolds enters Wednesday's game with a 32-10 record at SRU and is one win shy of the school record for wins by a Rock head coach in his first two seasons … Following Wednesday's game vs. Mercyhurst, The Rock travels to Edinboro for a 3 p.m. PSAC-West game, then entertains Gannon in an 8 p.m. division game Jan. 20 ... Sunday's win gave West Chester a 9-2 lead advantage in the all-time series.