SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team pushed its winning streak to six games with a 70-61 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference victory over Shepherd University Tuesday at Morrow Field House.
 
Slippery Rock, which was one of 15 teams receiving votes in this week's Division II National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, is now 9-1 overall and 2-0 inside the PSAC thanks to its sixth consecutive victory. SRU is also a perfect 7-0 in games played inside Morrow Field House. Shepherd leaves Slippery Rock at 4-5 overall and 0-2 in league games.
 
The Rock's 9-1 record is tied for the third-best 10-game start to a season in program history. Only three of the seven previous times in which Slippery Rock started its season with at least nine wins in 10 games occurred during the program's Division II era: 2009-10 (10-0), 2022-23 (9-1) and 1990-91 (9-1). All of those three impressive starts included victories against at least one team that did not compete in NCAA Division II.
 
Ike Herster paced four Rock athletes in double figures with 15 points to go with a one steal and a career-high tying four assists.
 
Dame Givner and Isaac James added 14 points apiece. Givner also grabbed six rebounds and made one steal, while James grabbed four rebounds to go with a 6-of-10 shooting performance that included a 2-for-2 effort from 3-point territory.
 
RJ Sledge came off the bench to register 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Sledge shot 5-for-8 from the field overall and 2-of-3 from 3-point range.
 
Rounding out The Rock's top contributors in the win was Brady Mayo (7 points, 3 assists), Kerwin Prince (4 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal) and Sheick Samoura (1 block).
 
Shepherd logged the game's first points with a Colton Hartman basket a minute into regulation before James made a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to give SRU a lead it would never relinquish. All told, Slippery Rock led for 38:43 Tuesday in what was its seventh game of the season in which it kept an advantage for at least 32 minutes.
 
SRU steadily grew its lead out to 16 points at 40-24 with 3:42 left in the first half before taking a 13-point, 44-31, edge into the break. The Rock maintained their double-digit advantage for the near entirety of the second half before a layup by Elwyne Wordlaw in the game's final seconds trimmed Shepherd's margin of defeat down to nine points.
 
Collectively, The Rock shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the field overall, 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from 3-point range and a perfect 10-of-10 at the foul line.
 
Tuesday's performance at the foul line is the first time a Slippery Rock team has produced a perfect free throw percentage in a single-game with a minimum of 10 attempts over the last 25 years (as far back as documented single-game SRU statistics are available).
 
In addition to holding a +1 rebounding margin (34-33), Slippery Rock also committed a season-low 10 turnovers.
 
Defensively, The Rock limited the Rams to a .403 field goal percentage (25-of-62) that included a 5-for-22 (.227) showing from 3-point range. Shepherd also connected on just 6-of-12 free throw attempts. Wordlaw scored a game-high 23 points and Marcus Banks had a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead SU.
 
SRU next hits the road for back-to-back PSAC crossover games 3 p.m. Saturday at Shippensburg and 3 p.m. Sunday against Lock Haven.






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