SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Playing without two of the top-15 scorers in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team used a complete team effort to beat Indiana University (Pa.), 75-64, Wednesday night at Morrow Field House.
 
The PSAC West victory snaps a two-game losing streak for The Rock and improves their record to 11-9 overall and 7-5 in league games while the Crimson Hawks leave SRU at 9-9 overall and 5-6 inside the PSAC West.
 
Wednesday's victory, combined with Edinboro's loss to Seton Hill, gives Slippery Rock a 1.5 game lead for second place in the PSAC West standings ahead of the third-place trio of IUP, Edinboro and California (Pa.) with eight contests remaining in the regular season.
 
With Jomo Goings and Maceo Austin, who combine to average 33.5 points per game, sidelined for the contest due to minor injuries, Slippery Rock saw Ike Herster, Day Waters and Luke Howes come up with clutch offensive performances in their absence.
 
Herster finished just short of a career-high after scoring a game-high 22 points to go with five rebounds and three assists. Waters and Howes went for 17 and 16 points, respectively with Waters blocking four shots and pulling down seven rebounds. Howes meanwhile matched Herster for team-best honors in assists with three as well.
 
Waters, Howes and Herster shot a collective 50 percent (22-for-44) from the floor overall including five 3-pointers.
 
Making his third start of the season, Sheick Samoura rounded out The Rock's leading scorers with nine points, five rebounds and one block. Veteran Bobby Clifford came off the bench to provide Slippery Rock with a seven-point, four-rebound performance in what was his 105th career game played.
 
Forwards Mack Staunch, who made his first collegiate start, and reserve O'Meech Wilson went toe-to-toe with one of the top post players in the entire Atlantic Region in IUP's Damir Brooks. Staunch and Wilson combined to produce 14 rebounds, two blocks and four points.
 
Slippery Rock closed the game shooting 45.2 percent (28-of-62) overall, but perhaps more importantly 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from 3-point range. SRU entered the contest ranked 283rd in the nation in 3-point accuracy at 28.7 percent.
 
The Rock also committed a season-low nine turnovers in the victory while holding a slim +1 rebounding margin (42-41) over the Crimson Hawks.
 
Defensively, SRU limited IUP to a 21-for-62 (.339) shooting performance overall that included a 6-of-25 effort from 3-point range. Brooks paced IUP with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double.
 
Wednesday's game was a close contest for the nearly all 40 minutes as evidenced by its 13 lead changes and seven ties. Indiana led by no more than nine points over the entirety of the game while SRU opened its lone double-digit lead of the night with just 46 seconds left in regulation when Wilson put the finishing touches on the victory with a pair of successful foul shots.
 
Trailing by five points coming out of the halftime break, the turning point in the game came at the start of the second half when Waters scored nine straight points for SRU while The Rock's defense held the Crimson Hawks to just three free throws, giving Slippery Rock a one-point 40-39 edge with 17:43 left in regulation.
 
The two evenly matched teams went on to trade baskets over the following five minutes before Howes found Herster for a fastbreak layup that gave Slippery Rock a 51-50 lead at the 12:23 mark in the half. SRU would not trail the rest of the game as it continually kept Indiana at bay over the remainder of the night by steadily building on its advantage for the eventual 11-point triumph.
 
Wednesday's game combined with an 81-62 victory against Indiana last season marks The Rock's first pair of back-to-back wins over IUP since the 2008-09 season as well as being the first time SRU has earned consecutive double-digit wins against Indiana in 35 years.
 
A season-high 1,734 fans packed Morrow Field House to see The Rock's win as part of SRU's annual "White Out Game" festivities.
 
After playing seven games over the last 18 days, Slippery Rock will get a welcomed week-long break before hosting Edinboro 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at Morrow Field House.




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