SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team outscored Penn State Shenango by a 51-32 margin in the second half to pull away for an 84-65 win in the home opener Tuesday night from Morrow Field House.
 
The Rock (2-1) trailed for more than seven minutes in the opening half after Shenango (0-3) knocked down six 3-pointers and took advantage of 10 SRU turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Lions led for the first seven minutes of the game before Slippery Rock put together an 18-4 run to take its biggest lead of the period at 22-12 with 7:38 to play. Shenango answered that push with a 21-9 run of its own to retake a 33-31 lead with 1:16 to play in the half. Will Robinson Jr. knocked down a jumper in the paint to send it to the break tied at 33-33.
 
Slippery Rock opened the second half on a 21-4 run and extended the lead out to a game-high 28 points down the stretch before Shenango got it back to a 19-point final margin.
 
The Rock shot 45.5 percent from the field (30-of-66), 44.0 percent from 3-point (11-of-25) and 86.7 percent at the free throw line (13-of-15). SRU posted advantages of 46-38 in total rebounds, 36-20 in points in the paint and 45-22 in bench scoring.
 
Donovan Walker led the way with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double for his first double-double at SRU. Robinson Jr. and Jared Armstrong each finished with 14 points and Amante Britt and Will Bounds each scored nine points.
 
Jason Fowlkes chipped in eight points, Lashon Lindsey scored six points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and Andre Seadey handed out a game-high five assists.
 
Shenango finished the game shooting 32.3 percent from the field (21-of-65), 28.1 percent from 3-point (9-of-32) and 73.7 percent at the free throw line (14-of-19). The Lions scored 13 second chance points on 18 offensive rebounds.
 
Malcolm Rouse and Larry Ransom Jr. each scored 11 points, while Tyler James and Ramell Askerneese both tallied 10 points to give Shenango four players in double figures.
 
Tuesday night's game marked the first of a four-game homestand for Slippery Rock, which will return to non-conference action at the Division II level when it hosts the University of Charleston (W.Va.) Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
 


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