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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Senior forwards
Gerald Brooks and
Devin Taylor both recorded “double-doubles” Wednesday night to lead the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team to a methodical 73-60 win over hosting Lock Haven in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action.
Brooks scored a game- and season-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a substitute role, while Taylor finished the game with 14 points and a game- and season-high 18 rebounds as a starter for SRU, which improved its season records to 11-3 overall and 8-2 against PSAC rivals.
With the win, The Rock remained deadlocked for the division lead with 16th-ranked Indiana, Pa. (12-3, 8-2).
Indiana held off a California (6-8, 5-5) rally to record a 70-68 win Wednesday night. Gannon (13-3, 7-3) and Mercyhurst (11-5, 7-3) also recorded PSAC-West wins Wednesday to remain tied for third place in the division standings.
Gannon handed Edinboro (9-5, 5-5) an 86-63 defeat, while Mercyhurst collared Clarion (4-9, 2-8) by a 62-49 count.
The Rock host Mercyhurst in a 3 p.m. game Saturday in Morrow Field House.
Brooks and Taylor were joined in the double-figure scoring column by junior swingman
Tabari Perry, who collected 12 points. Senior guard
John Bayardelle and senior center
Luiz Santos each added eight points to the winning attack.
Wali Hepburn, the PSAC's leading scorer with a 24 points per game average, was held under his average as he led the Lock Haven attack with 20 points. Kasheef Festus added 14 points for the Bald Eagles, who suffered their fourth consecutive loss and saw their season records fall to 5-8 overall and 3-7 in PSAC play.
The Rock scored the game's first two points and then, after Lock Haven tied the count at 2-2, outscored the hosts by a 26-13 margin to take a 15-point, 28-13, advantage with six minutes left in the first half of action.
Lock Haven cut the deficit to seven points, 33-26, at the intermission and got to within two points, 35-33, 90 seconds into the second half of action.
The Rock recovered and scored 10 of the next 11 points and 24 of the next 33 points to take their largest lead of the game, a 17-point (59-42) advantage, with 8:45 left to play.
Lock Haven never got closer than nine points the rest of the game.
SRU finished the game with a 42% (30-72) reading on its field-goal attempts, an efficiency pulled down by an 18% (3-17) effort from 3-point range, and sank 10 of 12 free throws.
The Rock held a 45-31 rebounding advantage to mark the 13th time in 14 games this winter they ruled the backboards. SRU also took better care of the basketball than Lock Haven, as evidenced by a 15-12 turnover comparison that had the hosts on the lower end of the tally.
Lock Haven shot 39% (22-57) from the field, hit three of six shots from beyond the 3-point arc and sank 13 of 16 (81%) free throws.
Saturday's game vs. Mercyhurst opens a two-game homestand for The Rock, who entertain California next Wednesday, Jan. 23 (8 p.m. tipoff).
Notes:
Taylor improved his career rebounding total to 590 with Wednesday's effort and moved ahead of Curt Williams (577 rebounds, 1984-88) into 16th place on SRU's all-time list … Taylor has scored 884 points in three Rock seasons and needs 116 to become the 22nd player in Rock history to reach the 1,000-point milestone … With the win Wednesday, The Rock, under the direction of fifth-year head coach
Kevin Reynolds, matched the third-best five-year win total in school history. The Rock have compiled an 85-44 under Reynolds, which matches the win total compiled by Bob Barlett-coached Rock teams from 1988-93 (85-57 combined record).
