ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team dropped an 83-76 decision on the road at Mercyhurst University Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action.
 
The Lakers (11-10, 8-9 PSAC) entered the game with an 8-2 record on their home floor, but just a 2-8 mark on the road, and outplayed Slippery Rock (18-6, 12-6 PSAC) to the tune of a 49-37 advantage in the second half on the way to the win. SRU has now lost seven of its last nine games on the road at Mercyhurst and is 9-17 all-time at the MU Athletic Center.
 
The Rock led 39-34 at halftime, but the Lakers opened the second half on a 12-4 run and took the lead for good with just over 13 minutes to play. They pushed the advantage out to as many as 11 points and hit their last seven straight free throws down the stretch to keep SRU from ever getting close enough to threaten for the win.
 
The Lakers shot just 31.5 percent from the field in the first half but more than doubled it in the final 20 minutes, shooting 64.3 percent in the second half to pull away. Slippery Rock shot 42.4 percent in the final 20 minutes but couldn't keep up with the hot shooting hosts.
 
The Rock finished the game shooting 40.3 percent from the field (27-of-67), 31.3 percent from 3-point (5-of-16) and 65.4 percent from the free throw line (17-of-26). SRU was uncharacteristically outrebounded for long stretches of play before finishing the night with a 42-40 edge on the glass.
 
Mercyhurst shot 45.5 percent from the field (30-of-66), 31.3 percent from 3-point (5-of-16) and 72.0 percent at the free throw line (18-of-25). The Lakers scored 40 points in the paint and recorded assists on 18-of-30 made field goals.
 
Micah Till led Slippery Rock with a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the year. Till went for 17 points and 12 rebounds in the first half before being held to just eight points and one rebound in the final 20 minutes.
 
Bruce Spruell recorded 16 points and four assists and Khyree Wooten finished with 11 points to cap the SRU players in double figures. Merdic Green and Brandon Simmons each recorded eight points and Simmons finished with three blocks, bringing his season total to 64, just four shy of the SRU single-season record of 68.
 
Malcolm Walters led Mercyhurst with 18 points and a team-high six rebounds. Lorenzo Collier added 16 points and Nelson Maxwell chipped in 10 points off the bench.
 
Slippery Rock remains in second place in the PSAC West standings with the loss, but the gap back to Edinboro and Gannon shrunk to just a half-game after both teams picked up wins Wednesday night to improve to 11-6 in league action. SRU has arguably the toughest schedule in the PSAC West down the stretch and will play Gannon and Edinboro on the road and Pitt-Johnstown at home over the final three games of the regular season.  
 
Next up for The Rock, however, will be a home matchup Saturday against Clarion with tip set for 3 p.m. at Morrow Field House.

 

To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics), Instagram (RockAthletics) and Snapchat (@RockAthletics).