SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team dropped a 68-48 decision on the road at Shippensburg University in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.
 
The two teams traded momentum through the first half and went the break tied at 28-28, but the hosts shot 51.7 percent in the second half and outscored The Rock 40-20 over the final 20 minutes to pull away for the win.
 
Shippensburg improves to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in PSAC games with the win, while Slippery Rock drops to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in league action.
 
The two biggest factors in the game were the turnover battle and the offensive glass. Slippery Rock turned the ball over 17 times, which Shippensburg turned into 21 points. The Raiders turned it over 11 times, but The Rock could only convert those miscues into four points. Shippensburg also pulled down nine offensive rebounds and made each one of them count, scoring 18 second chance points. SRU also pulled down nine offensive boards and score 11 second chance points.
 
Merdic Green paced The Rock with his best game in the Green and White, scoring 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and blocked two shots. Amir Maddred scored eight points and grabbed four boards and Christal Malalu scored seven points.
 
Khyree Wooten scored six points and grabbed four rebounds and George Chase scored four points and handed out a team-high four assists to cap the top performers for SRU.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game shooting 39.6 percent from the field (19-of-48), 5.6 percent from 3-point (1-of-18) and 64.3 percent from the free throw line (9-of-14). The Rock posted a 33-31 edge in total rebounds and outscored the Raiders 12-6 in bench points.
 
Shippensburg shot 39.3 percent in the first half before shooting 51.7 percent in the second half to finish the game at 45.6 percent from the field (26-of-57). The hosts hit seven shots from behind the arc (7-of-23, 30.4 percent) and were 81.8 percent at the free throw line (9-of-11).
 
Dustin Sleva led the Raiders with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. John Castello added 14 points and Justin McCarthur scored 13 points.
 
Shippensburg led by as many as six points and three different occasions in the first half, including 26-20 with 3:53 to play, before Slippery Rock closed the half on an 8-2 run to even the score at 28-28 at halftime.
 
The teams traded buckets to open the second half before Shippensburg went on a 13-4 run to open the game up. Slippery Rock cut it back to an eight-point game, 47-39 with 11:56 to play, but the Raiders responded with an 18-5 run to put the game out of reach.
 
The Rock will look for their first PSAC win of the year Sunday with a 3 p.m. game at No. 14 Kutztown.