Boxscore

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team ended a three-game losing skid Wednesday night with an emphatic 84-59 win over visiting Lock Haven in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action in Morrow Field House.

In the process of improving its season record to 13-5 overall and its PSAC-West mark to 2-3, The Rock hit on all cylinders in its final tuneup for Saturday night's home game against division-leading and ninth-ranked Indiana.

Senior guard Maurice Douglas scored a team-high 19 points to lead the winning attack Wednesday night, while junior forward Maron Brown added 15 points and 13 rebounds and senior forward Gary Satterwhite contributed 10 points.

The “double-double” was Brown's seventh in as many games, eighth in the last nine games and team-best 10th of the season.

Satterwhite's point total matched his season-best effort recorded in the season opener Nov. 15 against Ohio University Eastern.

The Rock's point total was its highest since a 94-point effort Jan. 2 against Cheyney, while the 25-point winning margin was the largest since a 27-point (88-61) cushion in the season opener vs. Ohio University Eastern.

Wednesday's win also moved Kevin Reynolds into sole possession at the top of the list for wins by a Rock head coach in his first two seasons. Reynolds now owns a 34-13 record as the Green and White boss.

The win also moved The Rock into a tie with Edinboro (8-10), Lock Haven and Mercyhurst (12-6) for fourth place in the PSAC-West standings with two games remaining on the first half of the division schedule. Indiana (16-1) is alone in first place with a 5-0 division record, followed by Clarion (12-6) at 4-1 and Gannon (8-9) at 3-2. California (12-8) is in the division cellar at 0-5.

SRU finished Wednesday's game with a 46% (33-72) efficiency on its field goal attempts that included a 35% (9-26) reading from 3-point range. The Rock also sank 64% (9-14) of its free throws and enjoyed a 49-42 rebounding advantage.

Lock Haven (5-11, 2-3) shot 34% (24-70) from the field, 26% (6-23) from long range and 31% (5-16) from the foul line and also lost the turnover battle, 14-11.

The Rock outscored Lock Haven by a 46-30 margin "in the paint" and by a 37-22 margin "off the bench."

The Rock and Bald Eagles battled to an 18-18 stalemate in the first 11 and a half minutes of action before SRU went on a decisive 27-2 run to close out the opening stanza and take firm control of the situation.

The Rock shot 49% (18-37) from the field, 42% (5-12) from 3-point range and 71% (5-7) from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Lock Haven, on the other hand, shot a chilly 26% (9-34) from the field that included an icy 1-of-11 (9%) efficiency on 3-point attempts and also made only one of five free throws in the first half.

The Rock had a 25-21 rebounding edge at the intermission and was on the lower end of an 8-4 turnover comparison.

SRU expanded its 26-point halftime advantage to 29 points (51-22) two minutes into the final half before Lock Haven went on a 21-11 run to trim the margin to 19 points, 62-43, with nine minutes remaining.

A 21-6 Rock run in the next six and a half minutes pushed the difference to 33 points, 82-49, with 2:30 left to play. Lock Haven then scored 10 of the final 12 points to account for the final score.

Eric Brennan scored 19 points to lead Lock Haven's scoring attack and tie Douglas for game-high scoring honors, while Warren Christian grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds.

Notes:

After hosting Indiana Saturday, The Rock will embark on a three-game road trip before returning home to entertain Edinboro in a 1 p.m. division game Feb. 13 … Armstrong Cable will videotape Saturday's men's and women's games vs. Indiana for replay Feb. 1 starting at 8 p.m. The replays will be aired on Armstrong's Channel 19 in the Slippery Rock/Grove City area and Channel 10 in the Butler/Zelienople/Cranberry area … The 1972-73 Rock men's basketball team coached by Mel Hankinson that advanced to the NAIA final four in Kansas City will be honored Saturday during a pregame reception and halftime ceremony in Morrow Field House … Wednesday's win moved Reynolds ahead of Cliff Wettig (33-17 record from 1973-75) in terms of wins by a Rock head coach in his first two seasons … Wednesday's win also gave The Rock its most wins in back-to-back seasons since the 1989-91 teams coached by Bob Barlett had 46 wins thanks to consecutive 23-win campaigns.