GLENVILLE, W. Va. – Slippery Rock University redshirt sophomore forward Micah Till recorded a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead The Rock men's basketball team to a 75-64 season-opening victory at Glenville State College Saturday night.
 
Glenville State (0-1) led by 11 points midway through the first half, but Slippery Rock (1-0) battled back to tie the game at 38-38 heading into halftime and proceeded to dominate the second half on the way to an 11-point victory. SRU did not trail for the entirety of the second half.
 
The win marked the largest margin of victory for The Rock in a season-opener since SRU defeated Ohio Valley University by 22 points to start the 2012-13 campaign. Slippery Rock is now 7-3 in season-openers under head coach Kevin Reynolds.
 
Till achieved his 20 points by shooting 9-for-18 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. His 20-point showing is the second largest scoring total for a Rock player in a season-opening game in the last seven seasons; Malcolm Richardson scored 21 points in The Rock's opener at Virginia State in 2015-16.
 
Junior Forward Brandon Simmons and redshirt junior guard Aaron McDonald both nearly achieved double-doubles as well against the Pioneers. Simmons came off the bench to score 15 points and grab nine rebounds while McDonald had 13 points and nine rebounds of his own. Simmons and Till combined to grab eight of Slippery Rock's 17 offensive rebounds.
 
Junior guard Bruce Spruell dished out eight assists while redshirt senior guard Merdic Green had five points and five rebounds to round out The Rock's top contributors.
 
Glenville State led The Rock 25-14 with 7:47 to play in the first half before Slippery Rock began its comeback bid in which SRU outscored the Pioneers 25-13 over the remainder of the half to send the game into halftime knotted at 38-38. Till scored 12 points over the run with Simmons adding six as well.
 
The second half belonged to Slippery Rock. SRU scored six straight points to begin the period, four of which came from senior center Christal Malalu, to open up a six-point edge it would never give away. The Pioneers never seriously threatened Slippery Rock, which stretched its advantage out to as many as 14 points before settling for the 11-point triumph, in the final 20 minutes of competition.
 
As is typically the case for The Rock, SRU held a commanding 52-36 advantage over the Pioneers in rebounds. Slippery Rock turned its 17 offensive redounds into 18 second chance points and also held edges over GSC in assists (12-7), points in the paint (42-30) and bench scoring (31-14).
 
Defensively, SRU held Glenville State to 38.5 field goal percentage (25-for-65) and a 20 percent (4-for-20) showing from 3-point territory.
 
Darhius Nunn scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Glenville State. The Pioneers committed just five turnovers while forcing The Rock into 11 miscues.
 
Slippery Rock will look to continue its winning ways with a victory against West Virginia Wesleyan 2 p.m. Sunday at the Waco Center in Glenville, West Virginia.


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