Game Notes - Tickets

GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs for all sports. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's game. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
 

Slippery Rock vs. Wheeling
The Rock (2-0)	Cardinals (1-1)
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach Ian Grady	Coach Chris Richardson
Program Records	Program Records
PSAC Standings
PSAC Leaders
PSAC Schedule
Morrow Field House
Tickets
Game Notes

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team will look to maintain its flawless record through the early stages of the 2025-26 season when it hosts Wheeling University for a non-conference regional game 7 p.m. Wednesday at Morrow Field House.
 
TICKET PRICES
Fans are encouraged to purchase advance tickets online HERE.
Adult General Admission: $10
Visiting Student with valid student ID: $5
Ages 7-High School: $5
Ages 6 and Under: FREE
SRU Students: FREE with valid student ID
 
Game Day Sales Only
Alumni (w/ Valid ID): $8
Faculty/Staff: $8
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch Wednesday's game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU athletic communication office.
 
• Search for Rock Athletics Digital Network in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices. The streaming web player linked above will also integrate with Chrome Cast devices to allow viewers to cast the game to those devices.

RECORDS
Slippery Rock welcomes Wheeling for the key early-season Atlantic Region game sporting a perfect 2-0 record while the Cardinals come to Morrow Field House with a 1-1 mark so far in 2025-26.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock earned a gritty 71-68 home victory over Davis & Elkins College while Wheeling fell to Clarion, 91-82, in a neutral site contest played at nearby West Liberty University. Both games were played on Nov. 15.
 
GAME 3 DETAILS
Opponent: Wheeling University
Date: Wednesday – 7 p.m.
Location: Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Venue: Morrow Field House
Video: Link
Live Stats: Link
Tickets: Link
In-game Updates: Twitter/X (@Rock_Athletics)
 
SERIES HISTORY vs. WHEELING
Overall: Slippery Rock leads 3-2
Current Streak: SRU W3
At Morrow Field House: SRU leads 1-0
First Meeting: Dec. 31, 2004 (WU won 72-65)
Last Meeting: Nov. 13, 2024 (SRU won 85-77)
Most Points, SRU: 85 - Nov. 13, 2024
Most Points, WU: 78 – Dec. 13, 2022
Largest Victory, SRU: 8 (85-77), Nov. 13, 2024
Largest Victory, WU: 19 (71-53), Nov 11, 2016
SRU coach Ian Grady vs. Wheeling: 3-0
Wheeling coach Chris Richardson vs. SRU: 0-3
 
Slippery Rock has won three consecutive games over Wheeling to improve its record in the all-time series to 3-2 in what has turned into a near annual non-conference matchup for The Rock and Cardinals. Wednesday's game will mark the fourth meeting between the two programs over the last five seasons.
 
Just one of the previous five games in the series has been decided by double-digits – a 71-53 Wheeling victory in 2016-17 – with the rest holding a final margin of no more than eight points including last season's 85-77 victory for SRU in Wheeling, West Virginia.
 
LAST MEETING
Behind a strong second-half performance, Slippery Rock earned an 85-77 non-conference victory on the road Nov. 13, 2024 over Wheeling.
 
After trailing Wheeling by four points at the halftime break, Slippery Rock held a +12 scoring margin in the final 20 minutes.
 
Luke Howes scored 21 points, matching his career-high and leading five Rock athletes who finished in double figures. Howes, who went 6-for-11 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 at the foul line, also blocked one shot and pocketed on steal. Among active Rock athletes, Ike Herster and Sheick Samoura scored 15 and 11 points, respectively, with Samoura also blocking two shots and pulling in six rebounds.
 
The Rock and Cardinals combined for 15 ties and eight lead changes before SRU closed the road victory on a 16-8 run over the game's final 6:37 thanks in part to making eight of its final nine free throws down the stretch.
 
ROCK STARS vs. THE CARDINALS
• Ike Herster: 15 Points, 2 Rebounds (1 GP)
• Sheick Samoura: 11 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Blocks (1 GP)
• Isaac James*: 10.5 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, 1.0 Blocks (2 GP)
• Mack Staunch: 3 Points, 5 Rebounds (1 GP)
* = While at Salem (2024-25)
 

TEAM COMPARISON
SRU	STAT	WU
92.5	Points per Game	83.5
72.0	Opp. Points per Game	86.5
.482	Field Goal Pct.	.481
.376	Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.464
.278	3-Point Pct.	.259
.261	Opp 3-Point Pct.	.366
5.0	3-PT Made per Game	7.0
.722	Free Throw Pct.	.735
19.5	FT Made Per Game	12.5
49.0	Rebounds per Game	28.0
37.0	Opp. Rebounds per Game	31.5
+12.0	Rebounding Margin	-3.5
+1.0	Turnover Margin	-0.5
10.0	Steals	6.0
2.0	Blocks	1.0

SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 2-0
• PSAC Record: 0-0
• Home Record: 2-0
• Away Record: 0-0
• Streak: W2
• Head Coach: Ian Grady | Eighth season (101-76)
 
ATLANTIC REGION CHALLENGE RECAP
Slippery Rock opened its 2025-26 season with a dominant showing at last weekend's Atlantic Region Challenge inside Morrow Field House as The Rock first defeated West Virginia Wesleyan College in dominant 114-76 fashion followed by its three-point (71-68) victory over Davis & Elkins. SRU has now gone 2-0 in two of the last three Atlantic Region Challenges it has hosted.
 
THIRD HIGHEST SCORING OUTPUT IN D2
Slippery Rock's 114-point outburst against West Virginia Wesleyan was the third-highest point total by a Division II team during the first official week of the regular season as only West Texas A&M (118) and Lenoir-Rhyne (116) scored more points in a single-game than SRU.
 
Division II Team Single-Game Scoring Leaders
West Texas A&M (vs. Chadron State): 118
Lenoir-Rhyne (vs. Clayton State): 116
SLIPPERY ROCK (vs. West Virginia Wesleyan): 114
MSU Denver (vs. Sul Ross State): 113
Frostburg State (vs. Shippensburg): 112
 
Additionally, the 114 points marked the third-highest scoring output by an SRU team in a season-opener, while the 38-point margin of victory served as the eighth largest win by The Rock in a season-opener all-time.
 
The last time SRU scored more than 114 points against a fellow Division II opponent came in an NCAA Tournament loss against West Liberty University in 2010-11.
 
GOING FOR 3-0
A victory over Wheeling would give Slippery Rock its second 3-0 start to a season since 2010-11. Dating back to the end of World War II (80 years), Slippery Rock has started a season 3-0 14 times. SRU has gone on to translate those 14 perfect starts into winning records at the end of the season on 11 occasions.
 
3-0 Starts at SRU (Final Record)
2022-23 (17-12)
2009-10 (15-12)
2008-09 (21-8)
1993-94 (12-13)
1991-92 (11-16)
1990-91 (23-9)
1989-90 (23-6)
1982-83 (17-8)
1974-75 (18-9)
1964-65 (12-12)
1963-64 (16-4)
1961-62 (13-9)
1952-53 (13-3)
1946-47 (11-8)
 
ATTACKING THE GLASS
Slippery Rock ended the first weekend of the regular season averaging 49.0 rebounds per game. SRU's impressive early season rebounding has positioned The Rock as the No. 2 rebounding team in the nation heading into Wednesday's game. SRU also ranks 10th in the country in offensive rebounding (19.00) and 20th in rebounding margin (+12.0).
 
Isaac James (9.5 rpg) and Elijah Hill (8.0 rpg) lead The Rock's efforts on the glass followed by a pack of four other athletes averaging at least 3.5 rebounds per game in RJ Sledge (4.5), Ike Herster (4.0), Enire Bowens (4.0) and Mack Staunch (3.5).
 
SRU has also posted second-chance scoring totals of 23 points (Wesleyan) and 17 points (D&E) in its first two games. Slippery Rock only had 17 or more second chance points in a game twice times last year.
 
BORN TO RUN
Slippery Rock ranks 17th in the nation in fastbreak points per game with 21.5. SRU first ran its way to 27 fast break points against West Virginia Wesleyan followed by 16 in the Davis & Elkins win. The Rock averaged 18.7 fastbreak points per game in their 15 wins last year, but just 13.3 over their 14 losses.

NON-CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Dating back to the 2008-09 season, SRU has posted a 60-13 record (.822) in non-conference games at Morrow Field House as well as a 103-53 (.660) mark outside of the PSAC overall.
 
TOUGH TO BEAT AT HOME
Since 2008-09, SRU is an outstanding 178-58 (.754) at Morrow Field House. SRU has now recorded a winning record at Morrow Field House for 14 of the last 15 seasons. Across the PSAC, SRU ranks fourth in home winning percentage and fourth in total home wins since 2008-09.
 
THE ROCK vs. THE MEC
Since the Mountain East Conference's formation in 2013, Slippery Rock is a healthy 19-9 (.679) against MEC teams, including an 10-3 (.769) record when hosting its regional foes at Morrow Field House. Slippery Rock is already 2-0 against schools from the MEC this season with two more matchups looming against Wheeling, nationally ranked Fairmont State and Glenville State.
 
MAKING OPPONENTS WORK FOR BUCKETS
Slippery Rock held West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins to combined shooting percentages of just .376 (53-of-141) from the field overall and .261 (12-of-46) from 3-point range at the Atlantic Region Challenge. Through two games, Slippery Rock leads the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – and ranks 28th in the country – in opponent field goal percentage as well as ranking sixth in the PSAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense.
 
EVERYONE GETS INVOLVED
If the opening two games of the year are any indication, Slippery Rock's offensive production will be spread amongst a deep roster of capable scorers this season. 11 of the 12 players that saw playing time against West Virginia Wesleyan scored at least two points while all 10 athletes that took the floor against D&E registered points.
 
The Rock's deep bench averaged 37 points per game at the Atlantic Region Challenge, the second-highest mark of bench production in the PSAC and the No. 20 average in Division II overall.
 
SHARING IS CARING
Slippery Rock averaged 16 assists per game in the opening weekend of the regular season. In total, Slippery Rock has assisted on 32 of its first 68 made field goals this season – 47.1 percent.
 
GRADY GETS WIN #100
Slippery Rock's win over West Virginia Wesleyan served as the 100th victory in the career of head coach Ian Grady, who became just the fifth coach in the program's 110-year history to reach the milestone. Across the PSAC, only five other active coaches have reached 100 career wins faster than Grady.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
True freshmen Dame Givner and Brady Mayo as well as redshirt freshman Elijah Hill each started the first two games. Prior to this year, the last time three freshmen (true or redshirt) started the same game at SRU came during the 2007-08 season when Cory Somerville, Itay Levy and Jade Burka started in an 88-77 loss to East Stroudsburg on Dec. 19, 2007.

STRONG FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Rock's first two games of the year saw six athletes who are in their first seasons as members of the active roster earn significant playing time. All six made big contributions in getting SRU its first two wins of the season.
 
• Elijah Hill: After redshirting as a true freshman, Hill had a great start to his on-court career with per game averages of 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting an ultra-efficient 75 percent from the field overall (12-of-16) and a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
 
• Isaac James: The senior transfer from Salem University, nearly averaged a double-double of 8.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game all the while distributing nine assists. His 4.50 assist-turnover ratio ranks 30th in D2.
 
• Brady Mayo and Dame Givner: The Rock's starting backcourt in each of the first two games of the season combined to average 18.5 points per game with Mayo also making four steals in two games.
 
• RJ Sledge: Another freshman guard, Sledge did a little bit of everything for The Rock as a key reserve. Sledge played the most minutes of any non-starter on the way to averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.0 assists per game.
 
• Braylon Littlejohn: A redshirt freshman, Littlejohn played a vital role in SRU's win over Davis ^ Elkins with 10 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists.

QUICK HANDS
Maceo Austin pocketed five steals in The Rock's win over West Virginia Wesleyan. The five steals came as part of a great all-around performance that also included 15 points, four assists and three rebounds. Austin, who now ranks 17th in program history for steals in a career, is one of just two athletes in the PSAC West to record five steals in a game this year.
 
TRIPLE #100 ON HORIZON FOR HERSTER
Ike Herster is just two 3-pointers away from becoming the 11th athlete in program history to have made 100 3-pointers. Herster, who produced 14.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg in the first two games of the year, will become just the third Rock athlete to make 100 triples in the last 14 years along with Amante Britt (112 / 2018-23) and Jared Armstrong (124 / 2018-20).  
 
SHEICK'S BLOCK PARTY
Sheick Samoura accounted for three of The Rock's four blocks last weekend and in the process moved into a tie alongside teammate Maceo Austin for 24th on SRU's career blocks ledger with 45. Samoura has 15 multi-block outings in his 55-game SRU career.
 
QUALITY MINUTES FROM BOWENS
After playing 25 minutes over the course of 12 games the last two seasons, reserve forward Enire Bowens provided The Rock with solid production off the bench last weekend. Bowens appeared in both games en route to averaging 3.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
  
HERSTER AND AUSTIN CLOSING IN 1,000 POINTS (AGAIN)
Already 1,000-point scorers over the entirety of their collegiate careers, Ike Herster and Maceo Austin are both very likely to become the 26th and 27th players in program history to score 1,000 points exclusively at The Rock. Herster has scored 852 points during his SRU tenure with Austin close behind at 791.
 
When the two former high school teammates do both reach 1,000 points in Rock uniforms, they will become the first pair of active 1,000-point scorers at SRU since Mark Metzka and Dennis Greene shared the court as 1,000-point scorers during their senior years in 1994-95.
 
MULTIPLE ACTIVE 1,000-POINT SCORERS AT SRU
1989-90: Bill Johnson and Myron Brown
1990-91: Myron Brown, Kevin Jones, C. Russell
1994-95: Dennis Greene and Mark Metzka

RECORD WATCH
Made 3-Pointers (7-12)
7-Dan Heiman (69 Games, 1991-94): 115
8-Maurice Douglas (52 Games, 2008-10): 114
9-Amante Britt (115 Games, 2018-23): 112
10-C. Russell (117 Games, 1987-91): 101
11-Jomo Goings (87 Games, 2021-25): 99
12-Ike Herster (58 Games, 2023-Active): 98
 
Steals (14-19)
14-Dave Johnson (77 Games, 2001-04): 102
t15-Glenn Reepmeyer (104 Games, 2002-07): 98
t15-Lashon Lindsey (116 Games, 1994-97): 98
17-Maceo Austin (46 Games, 2023-Active): 94
18-Mark Metzka (100 Games, 1991-95): 91
19-Dave Freeman (103 Games, 1998-00, 01-03): 90

Points By a Transfer at SRU (7-14)
7-Paul Gilbert (Alvernia / 1994-97): 888
8-Jabril Bailey (Campbell / 2009-11): 878
9-Louie Moore (Eastern Kentucky / 1997-00) : 863
10-Doug Zimmerman (Penn State Behrend / 1970-72): 860
11-Ike Herster (Gannon / 2023-Active): 852
12-Rob Wilson (Ohio Valley Business College / 1989-91): 807
13-James Richardson (Lenoir CC / 1998-99): 797
14-Maceo Austin (Duquesne / 2023-Active): 791

WHEELING PRIMER
• Stats: Link
• Roster: Link
• Overall Record: 1-1
• MEC Record: 0-0
• Home Record: 0-0
• Away Record: 0-0
• Neutral Site Record: 1-1
• Streak: L1
• Head Coach: Chris Richardson | Sixth season (44-92)

SCOUTING WHEELING
• Wheeling opened its season at the West Liberty Classic with an 85-82 victory over California (Pa.) followed by a 91-82 loss to Clarion.  
 
• While the Cardinals scored 83.5 points per game on an efficient 48.1 field goal percentage at the WLU Classic it also allowed the Vulcans and Golden Eagles to average 86.5 ppg and shoot 46.4 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from distance.
 
• Wheeling took care of the basketball to the tune of 13 turnovers per game against Cal and Clarion, but left the weekend with a -3.5 rebounding margin.
 
•  Individually, Wheeling is led by starters Ayden Goll (16.0 ppg / 5.5 apg, 1.5 spg), Caleb Murray (13.0 ppg), Kris English (12.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 spg) and Alex Smith (10.0 ppg, 1.5 spg).
 
• Six athletes who appeared in last year's home loss to The Rock are still on Wheeling's roster. Murray (13) and Tee Harris Jr. (14) both finished in double figures against SRU.
 
UP NEXT
With its three-game season-opening homestand now completed, Slippery Rock leaves the comforts of Morrow Field House for the first time in 2025-26 when it hits the road to play at fifth-ranked Fairmont State University 3 p.m. Saturday.





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