SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team scored 14 of the final 21 points in regulation to earn a narrow 88-82 victory over Edinboro University Saturday afternoon at Morrow Field House.
 
The victory improves The Rock's record to 15-4 overall and 9-4 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division competition. Edinboro drops to 11-6 overall and 8-5 in league games. The win gives Slippery Rock sole possession of third place in the PSAC West standings with nine games remaining in the regular season.
 
Slippery Rock held a double-digit lead over Edinboro five different times throughout Saturday's game, but the Fighting Scots used a 23-14 run midway through the second half to take a 75-74 lead over The Rock with 2:43 remaining in regulation. The lead was Edinboro's first since being ahead of SRU 4-2 81 seconds into the game.
 
However, Edinboro's lead was short-lived as Bruce Spruell drew a foul on Slippery Rock's next possession and promptly converted two free throws to give SRU a 76-75 lead that it would never relinquish. Slippery Rock closed out the game by making six of its final 10 free throws to go with successful field goals by Merdic Green, Aaron McDonald and Micah Till as well as a defensive effort that saw The Rock force Edinboro to miss six of its final nine shots.
 
Till finished the day with a double-double 26 points and 20 rebounds. The 20 rebounds are tied for the most by a player in the PSAC this season. He is the first Slippery Rock player to record at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game since Cornelius Brown had 23 points and 22 rebounds against Penn-State Allegheny on Dec. 7, 2015. Till, who went 10-for-19 from the field and 6-for-10 at the foul line, also filled the stat sheet with four blocks, one assist and one steal.
 
Brandon Simmons also registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocks, pushing his season total to 50. Simmons is now tied with Seton Hill's Spencer Casson for the league lead in blocks. The 50 rejections also represent the second most blocks by Rock player in single-season program history. He is 18 away from tying Kevin Jones, who blocked 68 shots in 1990-91, for the school record.
 
Spruell overcame a 3-for-15 shooting performance from the field by going 9-for-14 at the foul line to finish with 15 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds and passed out seven assists. Spruell, the PSAC's leader in assist/turnover ratio, has tallied 28 assists while committing just 9 turnovers over The Rock's last five games.
 
Green went 6-for-9 from the field to round out The Rock's top scorers with 12 points. Tony Gates came off the bench to chip in seven points and seven rebounds while fellow reserves Khyree Wooten (six points) and Christal Malalu (two blocks) also played key roles in the win.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock shot 42.7 percent (32-for-75) from the field overall, 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from 3-point territory and 66.7 percent (22-for-33) at the foul line.
 
SRU, the top rebounding team in Division II, held a 58-43 advantage on the glass over the Fighting Scots. Included in the 58 rebounds were 19 offensive boards. Slippery Rock also held edges over Edinboro in assists (17-13), blocks (13-2), points in the paint (46-38) and points off turnovers (15-8).
 
Keshawn Liggins went for a double-double of 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals to pace Edinboro. Trey Staunch came off the bench to provide the Fighting Scots with quality minutes inside, finishing with 14 points, 11 of which came in the second half, and four rebounds.
 
As a team, Edinboro shot just 37.5 percent (30-for-80) from the field overall, 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from 3-point range and 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from the foul line. EU committed a scant 11 turnovers while also holding advantages over SRU in steals (7-3) and second chance points (25-14).
 
Slippery Rock returns to competition 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when it hosts Gannon in what will be another crucial PSAC West contest for The Rock. The Golden Knights will enter Morrow Field House slotted second in the division standings with a 9-3 conference mark.
 
 
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