SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire to remain undefeated with an impressive 73-59 victory over the University of Charleston Saturday at Morrow Field House.
 
Slippery Rock improves its record to 5-0 on the season following the non-conference win while the visiting Golden Eagles drop to 3-3. This year's team is now just the fourth in program history to begin a season 5-0 since SRU joined Division II, joining the 1990-91, 2008-09 and 2009-10 Rock squads.  
 
In what is becoming a staple for The Rock, SRU continued to play tremendous defense as it limited Charleston to the lowest point total by a Rock opponent this season after forcing the Golden Eagles into 21 turnovers, which SRU parlayed into 20 points, and a team field goal percentage of just .383 (23-of-60).
 
Khalid Gates once again paced Slippery Rock with a 26-point, nine-rebound, one-block, one-steal effort. Gates, who had six offensive rebounds in the win, was an efficient 11-for-16 from the field including a 2-for-3 showing from 3-point range.
 
Amante Britt chipped in 13 points and four rebounds while Bobby Clifford had his best offensive game of the season as he went a perfect 2-for-2 from long range on the way to finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
Lashon Lindsey came off the bench to provide The Rock with a near double-double of nine points and seven rebounds in addition to blocking one show and coming away with a pair of steals.
 
Rounding out The Rock's top performers was Alex Griggs, who had three steals, and a well-rounded contest of seven points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals by Jonathan McFall.
 
A layup by Gates in the opening minute of Saturday's contest gave Slippery Rock a lead it would never surrender. While UC kept the game close for the majority of the first half, Slippery Rock closed the opening 20 minutes on a 7-0 run to take an 11-point advantage into halftime.
 
Any hopes of Golden Eagle comeback out of the break were quickly put to rest as The Rock proceeded to stretch their lead out to as many as 20 points six minutes into the second half en route to the commanding 73-59 win.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (29-of-68) from the field overall, a season-best 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from 3-point range and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) at the foul line. SRU also held a +8 rebounding margin (43-38) that included 16 offensive rebounds. The Rock have now grabbed at least 16 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
 
Keith Williams scored 13 points in the loss for Charleston while Tyler Eberhart had a double-double of 11 points and 15 rebounds.
 
After playing five straight games to open the year at home, Slippery Rock will take its perfect record on the road for the first time this season when it travels to Shepherd University for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover game 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2.




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