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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Slippery Rock University rode a balanced scoring attack to a 78-65 victory over hosting Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's basketball "crossover" action Saturday afternoon.

Senior guard Josh Martin scored a team-high 18 points and handed out four assists to lead the winning attack. Senior center Maurice Lewis-Briggs added 16 points and eight rebounds, redshirt junior guard Antonio Butler chipped in 15 points off the bench and redshirt senior swingman Tabari Perry recorded a 14-point, 10-rebound "double-double" while also handing out a team-best five assists.

Redshirt sophomore swingman Jordan Grady added five points and six rebounds off the bench for his second strong showing in as many days.

The win improved SRU's season record to 11-4 heading into Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. date with Kutztown that will conclude the six-game crossover series.

Shippensburg, which had ended a five-losing skid with a win Friday over California (Pa.), saw its season record drop to 2-10.

Another crucial component in The Rock's winning performance Saturday afternoon was the defensive effort the Green and White put forth in containing Shippensburg star Joe Lococco.

The No. 2 scorer in the conference with a 21.3 points per game average, Lococco was held to only four first-half points and 10 total points Saturday.

Tony Ellis led Shippensburg's scoring attack Saturday with 18 points to tie Martin for game-high honors. Abe Massaley added 17 points for the Red Raiders.

The Rock finished the game with a 45% (27 of 60) efficiency on their field-goal attempts with a 4-for-16 (25%) showing from 3-point range and sank 20 of 28 (71%) free throws.

SRU also held a 23-8 advantage in points off the bench, a 36-26 margin in scoring "in the paint" and a 22-5 difference in second-chance points as part of a 46-28 rebounding advantage. The Rock were on the high end of an 11-9 turnover comparison.

The Rock and Red Raiders battled to a 10-10 stalemate in the first six minutes of action before SRU went on a 12-1 run to take command of things.

Shippensburg answered that Rock run with a string of six unanswered points, only to see the guests respond with a 12-2 run of their own that pushed the difference to 16 points, 34-18, with 2:30 left to play in the half.

The Rock held a 36-26 lead at the intermission with Lewis-Briggs accounting for 12 of SRU's points and Martin chipping in nine tallies.

The Rock made 47% (14 of 30) of their field-goal attempts with a 33% (3-9) showing from 3-point range, but only hit five of 11 (46%) free throws in the first half of action.

SRU parlayed a 22-16 rebounding advantage in the opening 20 minutes into an 18-8 scoring margin "in the paint" and a 9-4 edge on second-chance points.

Shippensburg hit 37% (10 of 27) of its field-goal attempts in the first half with a 57% (4 of 7) efficiency from long range and hit two of six free throws.

The hosts opened the second half of action with a 10-4 scoring advantage to trim The Rock's lead to four points, 40-36, with 16:15 left to play.

Undaunted, The Rock responded with a 21-9 run to take their largest lead of the game, an 18-point, 61-43 advantage with 8:30 remaining.

The Rock and never led by less than nine points in the final eight minutes of action.

Notes: Saturday's win gave SRU a 3-2 record in crossover games this winter and a 24-15 (.615) record against PSAC-Eastern Division teams in six seasons under current head coach Kevin Reynolds … The win, which ended a string of three consecutive road games for The Rock, was SRU's fifth in six road games this winter and improved the Green and White's road record under Reynolds to 39-32 (.542)) … Saturday's game marked the fourth consecutive game and the 11th time in 15 games this winter Lewis-Briggs scored 10 or more points. Lewis-Briggs averaged 22.8 points per game in the last four outings … Martin recorded a double-digit scoring total for the fifth consecutive game and eighth time this winter. Martin averaged 17.0 points in the last five games … Butler had his second consecutive double-digit scoring effort and fifth of the season … Perry recorded his third consecutive double-digit scoring total and 10th of the season. Perry also recorded his fourth "double-double" of the season, which moved him into a tie with Lewis-Briggs for the team lead … Saturday's win was Reynolds' 108th in 162 games (.667) as The Rock's head coach.