INDIANA, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team outscored No. 5 Indiana (Pa.) 40-37 in the second half, but couldn't overcome a slow start and a hot-shooting night from the hosts in suffering an 83-66 loss Saturday night on the road.
 
The win is the 12th in a row for Indiana and improves the Crimson Hawks to 21-2 overall and 16-1 in league games. Slippery Rock drops to 12-11 overall and 8-9 in league action.
 
The Rock entered the game ranked second in the nation in scoring defense and sixth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowing just 61 points per game and holding opponents to 39 percent shooting, but Indiana shot 74.1 percent in the first half and scored 46 points in the opening 20 minutes to set the tone for the night.
 
The Crimson Hawks finished the game shooting 68.1 percent from the field (32-of-47), 54.5 percent from 3-point (6-of-11) and 86.7 percent from the free throw line (13-of-15).
 
The Rock recovered from a 46-26 halftime deficit to outscore Indiana 40-37 over the final 20 minutes, but could never recover from the hot-shooting start for the hosts. SRU finished the game shooting 44.4 percent from the field (24-of-54), 54.5 percent from 3-point (6-of-11) and 75 percent from the free throw line (12-of-16). The Rock posted a 25-20 edge in total rebounds, but were outscored 44-22 in points in the paint.
 
Merdic Green and Naquil Jones each scored 10 points to lead SRU, which got scoring contributions from 10 of the 11 players that saw action in the game. Vinny Lasley, Amir Maddred and Tony Gates each scored nine points.
 
Khyree Wooten and Guilherme Verardo each scored five points, while Jordan Marrow added four points. Milly Raye scored his first career points and finished with three points.
 
Indiana was led by Devon Cottrell, who was held scoreless in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this year, as the forward finished with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting.  Anthony Glover added 13 points and Dante Lombardi scored 10 points.
 
Saturday's loss drops Slippery Rock into fourth place in the PSAC West, one game back of Pitt-Johnstown and a half-game ahead of fifth place Mercyhurst, which happens to be SRU's next opponent. The Rock still hold a one-game cushion over sixth place Seton Hill.
 
Mercyhurst will visit Morrow Field House Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. tip. The game has been deemed a "Black Out." The first 500 SRU students that arrive will be given a free t-shirt, courtesy of Adidas and the Erie Sports Store.