EDINBORO, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team continued to build momentum towards the playoffs with a 64-60 road win at Edinboro University Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action.
 
Shortly after the game ended, it looked like Slippery Rock (14-13, 10-11 PSAC) would move into fourth place in the PSAC West and into the driver's seat to host a home playoff game in the opening round of the playoffs. California needed to win at Mercyhurst (13-12, 11-10 PSAC) Wednesday for that to happen and the Vulcans led by 12 with eight minutes to play in regulation. The Lakers went on a big run to send the game to overtime. Again, California jumped out to a big advantage, leading by nine points with just over two minutes to play in the extra period, but Mercyhurst responded with another improbable rally to force a second overtime. The Lakers edged ahead in the second session and earned the win to stay one game ahead of SRU in the PSAC West standings.
 
In order to earn a home game now, Slippery Rock will have to win its season finale Saturday at Pitt-Johnstown and have Mercyhurst lose Saturday on the road at Gannon. If both of those things happen, SRU would earn the fourth seed via tiebreaker and would host the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. An SRU loss or a Mercyhurst win Saturday would give the Lakers the No. 4 seed and make The Rock the No. 5 seed. No matter what, SRU and Mercyhurst will play each other in the first round of the playoffs next Monday night. Pitt-Johnstown locked up the No. 3 seed Wednesday and will wait till Saturday to find out if Seton Hill or California will be its opponent. Indiana has already locked up the top seed and Gannon has already secured the No. 2 seed, both earning a first round bye.
 
Edinboro was eliminated from the playoff picture before Wednesday's games and dropped to 7-18 overall and 5-16 in league games with the loss.
 
Slippery Rock led for more than 35 minutes Wednesday night, but Edinboro stayed close throughout the game and took a lead in the second half. That lead would last for less than 30 seconds. The Fighting Scots edged ahead 51-49 after a 5-0 run with 7:03 to play, but Slippery Rock answered with a 3-pointer from Khyree Wooten to regain the lead. After a made free throw from Edinboro, SRU scored six straight points to cap a 9-1 run and take a 58-52 lead with 3:21 to play.
 
Edinboro cut the deficit to 59-58 with 1:04 to play, but another 3-pointer from Wooten and one free throw each from Naquil Jones and Christal Malalu sealed the victory.
 
Jones and Wooten both made four 3-pointers in the game as SRU knocked down eight shots from beyond the arc. Jones finished with a team-high 19 points, while Wooten scored 15 points and handed out a team-high five assists.
 
Malalu recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to help SRU to a 39-30 advantage on the glass. Vinny Lasley added six points and six rebounds. George Chase and Merdic Green each scored four points and Tony Gates added three points.
 
The Rock shot 43.1 percent from the field (25-of-58), 44.4 percent from 3-point (8-of-18) and 50 percent at the free throw line (6-of-12).
 
Edinboro shot 45.3 percent from the field (24-of-53), 18.8 percent from 3-point (3-of-16) and 69.2 percent at the free throw line (9-of-13).
 
Jaymon Mason scored a game-high 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting and handed out six of Edinboro's seven total assists. Maceo Baston added 13 points and Andre Frederick scored 10 points.
 
Slippery Rock will now turn its focus to Saturday's regular season finale at Pitt-Johnstown, which is set for a 3 p.m. tip. The Rock have not won on the road against the Mountain Cats since the first meeting of the 2013-14 season when they initially joined the PSAC. UPJ has won the last two home meetings in the series by an average of more than 10 points.
 
 

 
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