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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team concluded its opening weekend of the 2024-25 season with a 73-70 overtime loss to Virginia Union University Saturday on night two of the Atlantic Region Classic at Morrow Field House.
 
Slippery Rock exits the weekend with a 1-1 record while the visiting Panthers improved to a perfect 2-0.
 
Jomo Goings continued his great early-season run as the redshirt junior guard posted a 26-point, six-rebound, six-assist, three-steal stat line that included 50 percent shooting marks both overall (7-for-14) and from 3-point range (3-for-6) as well as a perfect 9-for-9 night at the foul line.
 
Goings, who has tied his scoring career-high in each of the first two games of the season, is a perfect 25-for-25 at the foul line on the year. Dating back to the end of last season, Goings has now converted his last 35 free throw attempts – the second longest such streak in program history behind only Larry Deemer's 45 consecutive made foul shots in 1969-70.
 
Maceo Austin and Ike Herster also finished in double figures at 14 and 13 points, respectively, with Austin grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out six assists, blocking one shot and coming up with one steal.
 
In addition to pulling down a team-high nine rebounds, Michael Moore blocked three shots and pocketed two steals. Fellow starter Day Waters scored nine points.
 
Off the bench, Luke Howes chipped five points, two steals and one block. Rounding out SRU's top performers with four rebounds and one steal in six minutes was reserve O'Meech Wilson.
 
The Rock held a 36-31 lead coming out of the halftime break only for the Panthers to erase the deficit and take a one-point, 39-38, edge of their own four minutes into the second half. From there, the two evenly matched teams traded the lead nine times over the final 15 minutes of regulation.
 
With the contest knotted at 56-56, and 2:55 showing on the clock, SRU scored three straight points over the next 31 seconds by way of a Goings foul shot and an Austin layup to give The Rock a 59-56 edge with 2:24 to go.
 
Slippery Rock maintained its three-point advantage through the following two minutes and seemed poised to earn a narrow victory before Tahj Harding, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's second leading scorer a season ago, connected 3-pointer to pull VUU even with SRU at 62-62 and just 2.5 seconds left in the second half.
 
A turnover on the ensuing possession canceled any potential game-winning shot for The Rock while a jumper as time expired by Virginia Union's Jonathan Salazar was well off the mark, sending the game into overtime.
 
Slippery Rock and Virginia Union once again traded baskets for much of the overtime period, but a Harding layup with 49 seconds to play in the extra period proved to be too much for SRU to overcome as The Rock missed their final two attempts while Harding made one of his two free throws in the waning moments of the contest en route to the three-point road win.
 
Slippery Rock closed the contest shooting 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field overall, 24 percent (6-of-25) from 3-point range and 66.7 percent (20-of-30) at the foul line.
 
Virginia Union converted 43.2 percent (32-for-74) of its field goal attempts including a 4-for-18 (.222) showing from distance in addition to surviving a 5-for-15 (.333) effort at the foul line. VUU held a +6 (44-38) rebounding margin over The Rock and forced SRU into 21 miscues – which resulted in 20 points off turnovers.
 
O'Maundre Harris led three Virginia Union athletes in double figures with 18 points. 10 of Harding's 17 points came in the second half.
 
Slippery Rock next takes to the road for the first time this season, when it heads to Wheeling University 7 p.m. Nov. 13.




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