EDINBORO, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team opened its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division schedule with a loss Wednesday to Edinboro University, 80-74, at McComb Fieldhouse.
 
The loss drops Slippery Rock's record to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in league play. Edinboro improved to 1-0 both overall and in conference competition with the win.
 
Senior center Cornelius Brown led Slippery Rock with career-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Brown went 9-for-12 from the field and 7-for-12 from the foul line. Through three games, Brown has averaged 18.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
 
Junior forward Chaquille Pratt just missed out on a double-double of his own with 17 points and eight rebounds.
 
Senior guards Malcolm Richardson and Dontay Jackson rounded out The Rock's double figure scorers with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Richardson also tallied six rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes played.
 
Senior guard Jamal Gatali matched a career-high with four blocks to go with 10 rebounds.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) from the field while holding the Fighting Scots to a 37.5 percent (24-for-64) shooting effort. Additionally, The Rock also held edges over Edinboro in rebounds (42-41), points in the paint (36-28) and second chance points (15-12).
 
The difference in the game came at the foul line and in the turnover battle. Slippery Rock made just 16 of its 27 free throw attempts while Edinboro made 26 of its 39 shots from the charity stripe. The Fighting Scots also turned 14 Rock turnovers into 21 points while committing just four miscues of their own.
 
Neither team was able to gain a sizable lead to start the game. Slippery Rock jumped out to an 11-6 lead only to see Edinboro go on an 11-5 run of its own to take 17-16 lead with 7:39 remaining in the period.
 
However, an intense defensive effort combined with an efficient offense allowed Slippery Rock to close the opening period out on an 18-14 spurt and push its lead to five points at 35-30 heading into halftime.
 
SRU shot an impressive 50 percent from the field in the first half while holding Edinboro to just a 30 percent mark. The Rock also held preseason All-PSAC-West honoree Henri Wade-Chatman to three points in the first half. Brown nearly collected a double-double in the opening period with 11 points and six rebounds. Jackson added seven points while Gatali paced the defense with all four of his blocks and five rebounds.
 
As was the case in the first half, no lead was safe in the second period; Edinboro surged ahead of The Rock, 48-42, after an 18-7 run through eight minutes of the second half. Slippery Rock was unable to halt the Edinboro run as the Fighting Scots built its lead up to a game-high 13 points at 58-45 with 8:34 remaining in regulation.
 
Slippery Rock would methodically cut into the Edinboro lead, eventually whittling its deficit down to six points (77-71) with possession of the ball and 27 seconds to play. However, on the ensuing play an SRU player was whistled for stepping out of bounds and possession went back to the Fighting Scots. Edinboro made three of its final six free throws down the stretch while holding The Rock to three points en route to the 80-74 victory.
 
Edinboro was led by Wade-Chatman, who finished the game with 17 points and nine rebounds. Tommy Scales also added 15 points and nine rebounds to the Edinboro cause.
 
SRU will look to snap its two-game losing streak 3 p.m. Saturday against Mansfield University at Morrow Field House.