Boxscore
MANSFIELD, Pa. – Slippery Rock University outscored hosting Mansfield University by a 10-3 margin in the first three and a half minutes of overtime Saturday afternoon en route to a 78-72 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference interdivisional men's basketball action.
The score was tied at 62-all at the end of regulation time. That marked the fifth and final time the count was knotted in the nip-and-tuck contest. SRU then scored the first four points of the extra stanza to take a lead it would not relinquish.
The outcome gave The Rock a 5-3 overall record and a 3-3 PSAC mark heading into next week's break for fall-semester final examinations. Mansfield saw its season records drop to 3-4, 2-4.
Following the break, The Rock opens a five-game homestand with a 4 p.m. game Dec. 19 in Morrow Field House vs. Chestnut Hill College.
Senior point guard John Valeriano led the winning attack Saturday with a career-high 23 points. Junior guard
Aubin Reeves (pictured) added 12 points and five rebounds, sophomore forward
Tabari Perry had 11 points and seven rebounds and freshman
Chaquille Pratt chipped in season-high totals of 10 points and 11 rebounds (team high) for his first “double-double” of the season.
Joe Bell scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed six rebounds before fouling out for the Mounties. Kevonte McClain added 16 points and 11 rebounds, Chuck Harper added 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Josh Dupuy also handed out seven assists.
The Rock shot 40% (31-77) from the field with a 7-of-21 effort from beyond the 3-point arc. The guests made nine of 18 free throws, held a 48-44 rebounding advantage and were on the lower end of a 14-11 turnover comparison.
Mansfield shot 37% (25-67) from the floor, 23% (5-22) from 3-point range and sank 81% (17-21) of its free throws.
The Rock never led in the first 34-plus minutes of action, but were able to knot the score on five occasions, the final one a 55-55 deadlock with 6:48 left to play in the game.
Mansfield had a six-point, 33-27, advantage at halftime.
A 3-point basket by Pratt with 5:21 remaining gave SRU its first lead, 58-57. The Rock never trailed thereafter, but Mansfield tied the score at 58, 60 and 62.
Back-to-back baskets by Reeves and senior forward
Devin Taylor gave SRU a 66-62 lead with 3:15 left to play in the five-minute overtime period.
A 3-point basket by the hosts trimmed the margin to one, 66-65, before The Rock scored six unanswered points to push the gap to seven points, 72-65, with 1:30 left. Mansfield was unable to get closer than four points in the final 90 seconds.
Notes:
The win was the 62nd recorded by The Rock in
Kevin Reynolds' four seasons as head coach. The next Rock victory will move Reynolds (62-34 career record) into a tie with Arthur Gant (1912-18) for fifth place on SRU's all-time wins list … The double-double by Pratt was only the fourth recorded by a Rock player this season. Taylor had the first two before junior center
Luiz Santos got one last Friday in a loss at Bloomsburg.
