Postgame Interview

PITTSBURGH – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team led the University of Pittsburgh for the opening 16 minutes of play and trailed the Panthers by just four points with 3:45 remaining in the second half, but couldn't quite pull off the upset in a 71-59 loss at the Shoot Down Cancer Exhibition Game presented by UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Saturday.
 
Micah Till made his unofficial Slippery Rock debut Saturday in fine fashion with 15 points, seven rebounds and one steal over 19 minutes. Merdic Green added 13 points and seven rebounds while passing out three assists. Green and Till combined to shoot 10-for-23 from the field.
 
Aaron McDonald, who was a teammate of Till's at Harford prior to coming to The Rock this season, chipped in eight points and two assists with Richard Bivens rounding out The Rock's leading scorers with six points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Bivens connected on a mid-range jumper for the game's first basket and from there The Rock went on to lead for the next 16:39 of play.
 
As has been the case for the last nine seasons under Rock head coach Kevin Reynolds, Slippery Rock was stellar defensively, forcing the Panthers into three early turnovers and holding the home team to a 28.6 field goal percentage as Slippery Rock stretched its lead to nine points at 18-9 midway through the opening half.
 
However, the Panthers would rally thanks in no small part to four made 3-pointers over the final eight minutes of the first half to take a 33-28 lead into the halftime break.
 
Slippery Rock held Pitt to a 32.2 field goal percentage in the first half, but only shot 35.5 percent from the field itself to go with a disappointing 6-for-12 effort from the foul line. Green nearly produced a double-double in the first half with nine points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Panthers opened the second half with a decisive 12-2 run that stretched their lead out to 45-30 with 15 minutes remaining in regulation. Slippery Rock continued to battle and eventually cut the deficit down to just four points at 63-59 with 3:45 remaining in regulation after Till drained a 3-pointer, his second of the game.
 
However, The Rock's comeback bid ended there as the Panthers closed out the contest by scoring eight unanswered points to pull away for the 12 point-victory.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with a 42-41 edge in total rebounds and a 15-10 advantage in offensive rebounds, but shot just 35.4 percent (23-for-65) from the field overall, 15 percent from 3-point range (3-for-20) and 50 percent (10-for-20) from the free throw line. Both teams committed 14 turnovers.
 
SRU also bested the Panthers in points in the paint (30-26), second chance points (19-10) and bench scoring (28-17).
 
The Panthers were led by Jared Wilson-Frame, who scored a game-high 24 points. As a team, Pitt concluded the game shooting 38.9 percent from the field (21-for-54), 33.3 percent from long range (7-for-21) and 78.6 percent from the free throw line (22-for-28).
 
Slippery Rock will officially start its 2017-18 season with two games at the MEC-PSAC Challenge Nov. 11-12 in Glenville, West Virginia against host Glenville State and West Virginia Wesleyan.


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