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Taylor, one of five Rock players who scored 10 or more points in the game, collected 14 points and 14 rebounds. He became the 22nd player in Rock men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points with his fourth point of the game, a layup with 16:30 left to play in the first half of action.

Taylor has now scored 1,010 points in his three-year Rock career.

Senior forward Gerald Brooks and senior guard Darious Clark (top picture) ach scored a game-high 17 points Wednesday night for The Rock, who recorded their third consecutive win and improved their season records to 18-6 overall, 15-5 in PSAC action.

Senior guard John Bayardelle chipped in 12 points and junior guard Sa'Quan Davis contributed 11 points to the winning effort.

Junior swingman Tabari Perry pulled down seven rebounds for SRU, while Brooks (picture below) and senior center Luiz Santos each snared five rebounds.


Wednesday's win, coupled with 24th-ranked Gannon's 44-36 loss at Mercyhurst, moved The Rock into sole possession of second place in the PSAC-West standings as the Green and White prepare for back-to-back battles with nationally-ranked teams.

SRU hosts division-leading and 14th-ranked Indiana (Pa.) in a 3 p.m. “Senior Day” game Saturday in Morrow Field House before closing out the regular-season schedule with a 7:30 p.m. date next Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Gannon in Erie.

Indiana (20-4, 16-4) held off Edinboro (15-9, 11-9) for a 78-70 win Wednesday night to maintain a one-game lead over The Rock heading into Saturday's game.

Gannon, with its loss Wednesday night, dropped to 20-6 overall and 14-6 in conference play, in third place and one game behind The Rock in the division standings.

With their win Wednesday, The Rock assured themselves of hosting at least one game in the conference's postseason tournament. The Rock have not hosted a PSAC tournament game since 2009.

There's a lot at stake for The Rock in their next two games, though, before they even start thinking about the conference tournament.

The top two teams in the PSAC-West standings at the end of regular-season action Feb. 27 earn a first-round bye and host a quarterfinal game March 5.

The No. 3 and 4 teams in the division host a first-round game March 2, the winner of which then goes on the road for a quarterfinal game.

The semifinal and final rounds of the conference tournament will be played March 8-9 in the home facility of the highest-seeded PSAC-West team remaining alive at the conclusion of the quarterfinal round.

The Rock would clinch a first-round bye and possibly put themselves in position to host the conference's final-four competition with wins over both IUP and Gannon in the final two regular-season games.

If The Rock finish third in the PSAC-West standings, they could host California in a first-round game. The Vulcans are currently the No. 6 team in the division standings.

The Rock made 48% (33 of 69) of their field-goal attempts with a 36% (8 of 22) efficiency from 3-point range in Wednesday's win. SRU sank 11 of 14 (79%) free throws and dominated the rebounding battle by a 51-25 margin.

Wednesday's game marked the 23rd time in 24 games this winter the Green and White, who lead the nation (NCAA Division II) in rebounding margin, “outboarded” their opponents.

California shot 32% (16 of 50) from the field with a 1-for-14 (7%) reading from long range. The Vulcans made 20 of 30 (67%) free throws.

SRU and California each committed 10 turnovers.

The Rock were hitting on all cylinders from the opening tip as they scored the first seven points of the game and had a 45-21 lead at halftime.

SRU made 17 of 34 shots from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action with a 5-for-11 (45%) showing from 3-point range and canned all six of its free throws. The Rock also held a commanding 24-10 advantage in rebounds.

California, which missed 11 of its first 12 shots from the floor, ended the half with a   frigid 6-for-23 (26%) efficiency on field-goal attempts with an 0-for-6 effort from long range. The Vulcans were 9-for-10 from the foul line in the first half.

Clark hit three of five shots from 3-point range and had 13 points in the opening stanza, while Brooks scored 10 points, Bayardelle and Davis had seven points each and Taylor chalked up six points and seven rebounds.

SRU held a 20-point, 35-15, advantage with 3:30 left before halftime and scored the final four first-half points to take the 24-point lead into intermission.

The Rock extended their lead to 39 points (81-42) at the six-minute mark in the final half and cruised home from there.

Notes:

Saturday's game vs. IUP will be part of “White Out Day” in Morrow Field House. All Rock fans are urged to wear white to the game. Special “White Out IUP” t-shirts will be on sale for $5 at the Field House prior to the game … Wednesday's win was the 92nd recorded by The Rock in five seasons under head coach Kevin Reynolds. That win total is one higher than the combined victory total for Rock men's teams in the 12 seasons prior to Reynolds assuming the reins … The Rock were not listed among the top 10 teams in the first NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional ranking of the season released Wednesday afternoon. The top 10 teams in order were: West Liberty, Winston-Salem, East Stroudsburg, Fairmont State, IUP, Livingstone, Alderson-Broaddus, Gannon, Johnson C. Smith and Wheeling Jesuit … The Rock need to crack the top eight in the final regional poll in order to earn their second NCAA playoff berth in the last three seasons.