Final statistics

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Visiting Mercyhurst College outscored Slippery Rock University by a 20-5 margin in the final 10-plus minutes Saturday afternoon to record a 71-56 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division men's basketball action.

With the win, their fifth straight, the Lakers (13-3, 4-0 PSAC-W) remained at least tied for the division lead. Mercyhurst entered Saturday's action deadlocked with Indiana (Pa.) for the top spot.

The loss was The Rock's second in the last three games and dropped the Green and White's season records to 12-6 overall, 2-2 in division action.

The Rock seek to regain their winning ways Wednesday, when they will host division rival California (Pa.) in an 8 p.m. game.

Junior guard Devin Taylor recorded his third “double-double” of the season with a 12-point, 10-rebound to lead The Rock effort. Senior guard Jabril Bailey added 10 points and six rebounds and senior postman Jade Burka chipped in nine points and six rebounds.

Heiden Ratner, the leading scorer in the PSAC with a 23.3 points per game average, led the Lakers' scoring effort Saturday with a game-high 19 points. Luis Leao contributed 14 points and seven rebounds and Bill Weaver added 13 points.

Mercyhurst led for the first five minutes of action, including a six-point advantage with four minutes elapsed, before The Rock knotted the score at 10-10. That was the first of five ties in the opening 20 minutes.

The Rock broke the fifth tie with a 10-0 run over a five-minute period to take its largest lead of the half, 30-20, with 4:30 left. Mercyhurst responded with a 10-2 run to trim the margin to two points with a minute remaining before a jump shot by junior guard Tommy Kelly gave the hosts a 34-30 halftime lead.

SRU shot 48% (14-29) from the field, made four of eight shots from beyond the 3-point arc and sank two of three free throws in the first half.

Mercyhurst countered with a 37% (11-30) effort from the field, a 4-of-10 showing from long range and a 4-of-5 reading from the foul line.

The Rock outrebounded the Lakers by a 20-15 margin in the first 20 minutes but had more turnovers, 11-9. The hosts' substitutes also outscored their Lakers counterparts by a 19-6 margin.

Nine Rock players scored at least two points in the opening half, led by seven points by Burka. Ratner scored eight points to lead the Lakers' first-half effort.

Mercyhurst scored 12 of the first 17 points in the second half to take a 42-39 lead with 16:45 left to play in the game. That started a string of four lead changes and a pair of tied scores in the next six minutes.

The final deadlock was a 51-51 stalemate with 10:30 left to play. It was all Mercyhurst from there on.

The Rock finished the game with a 39% (23-59) efficiency from the field, made 27% (4-15) of its long-range shots and shot an icy 43% (6-14) from the foul line.

Mercyhurst ended the game with a 47% (27-58) efficiency from the field, made 44% (7-16) from beyond the arc and sank 76% (10-13) of its charity tosses.

The Rock held a 39-34 rebounding advantage but also had more turnovers, 18-13. The hosts outscored the Lakers by a 23-8 margin “off the bench” and held a 26-22 edge “in the paint.”