ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team scored the first 18 points of the game and never trailed in a 62-52 victory on the road at Mercyhurst University Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action.
 
The Rock improve to 9-9 overall and 5-7 in PSAC games after picking up a crucial win over one of the top three teams in the PSAC West. Mercyhurst entered the game with a 7-1 record at home this season and slipped to 10-6 overall and 8-4 in PSAC games with the loss.
 
Slippery Rock capitalized on an ice-cold start by the hosts, jumping out to an 18-0 lead midway through the first half and maintaining a 32-20 advantage at halftime. The Lakers relied on the deep shot just to stay in the game after making 1-of-14 field goal attempts from inside the 3-point arc in the first half. MU shot 6-of-16 from 3-point and scored 18 of its 20 points from deep over the first 20 minutes.
 
Mercyhurst cut the deficit to six points on two occasions in the second half, including at 58-52 with 44 seconds to play, but Slippery Rock pushed the advantage back out to double digits each time.
 
The Rock finished the night shooting 45.8 percent from the field (22-of-48), 41.7 percent from 3-point (5-of-12) and 76.5 percent from the free throw line (13-of-17). SRU posted a +17 advantage on the glass with a 44-27 edge in total rebounds to mark the fifth straight game with a double-digit rebounding advantage.
 
Mercyhurst shot 30.4 percent from the field (17-of-56), 44.0 percent from 3-point (11-of-25) and 58.3 percent from the free throw line (7-of-12). The Lakers were outscored 26-8 in the paint after going 6-of-31 (19.3 percent) on shots inside the 3-point arc.
 
Will Robinson Jr. led Slippery Rock with 21 points and seven rebounds to mark his fifth straight game with at least 20 points. Micah Till added 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
 
Amante Britt scored 10 points and had three steals, Deontae Robertson scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds and Lashon Lindsey tallied four points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Mercyhurst was led by MiyKah McIntosh with 17 points and Zach McIntire with 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
Slippery Rock will look to continue its momentum Saturday when Edinboro visits Morrow Field House for a 3 p.m. tip.



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