SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team recorded an impressive 85-67 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division victory over Pitt-Johnstown Saturday at Morrow Field House.
 
SRU's win snapped a five-game losing streak and improved its record to 14-8 overall and 7-7 in league games while the Mountain Cats leave The Rock at 11-11 overall and 5-9 inside the PSAC.
 
With six games remaining in the regular season Slippery Rock finds itself in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Western Division standings alongside Seton Hill and Edinboro, but just one game in front of seventh-place Clarion (6-8). The top six teams in the PSAC West standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the PSAC Tournament.
 
In addition to ending its losing streak, the victory - combined with a win earlier in the year at UPJ - secured a season-sweep of the Mountain Cats for The Rock. Slippery Rock has now recorded six consecutive wins in the series.
 
Saturday's win came by way of a complete team effort that saw five of the eight Rock athletes that took the floor score in double figures.
 
Leading the way in the victory with double-doubles was the forward duo of Kerwin Prince and Isaac James.
 
Prince scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting, collected 12 rebounds and made five steals. James went for 14 points, 12 rebounds, three steals two assists and one block. Prince and James combined for 13 of The Rock's 17 offensive rebounds.
 
James and Prince are the first set of Rock teammates to have double-doubles in the same game since Lashon Lindsey and Maceo Austin did so in an overtime loss to Gannon on Jan. 17, 2024.
 
Brady Mayo continued his string of strong scoring performances with a career-high matching 18 points. Mayo, who has now scored at least 12 points in four of his last five games, also distributed three assists.
 
Dame Givner and Braylon Littlejohn added 10 points apiece. Givner added five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Littlejohn went 5-of-7 from the floor and made three steals.
 
Rounding out The Rock's top contributors were RJ Sledge (5 points, 1 assist) and Sheick Samoura (4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal).
 
SRU earned the win after shooting 45.7 percent (32-of-70) from the field overall, 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from distance and an efficient 75 percent (15-of-20) at the foul line. Slippery Rock recorded a season-low eight turnovers while forcing 15 Mountain Cat miscues which were parlayed into 16 Rock points.   
 
The Rock controlled the glass with a +7 rebounding margin (40-33). Included in SRU's impressive rebounding total was 17 on the offensive glass that resulted in 21 second chance points, Slippery Rock's third highest total of 2025-26.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, which entered the game leading all of Division II in field goal percentage, finished the contest shooting 45.6 percent (26-of-57) overall, 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from 3-point territory and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) at the foul line. Baden Forup led UPJ with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
The Rock and Mountain Cats traded the lead five times in a back-and-forth opening half that resulted in SRU taking a slim 42-40 advantage into the halftime break. The trend continued through the first three minutes of the second half as the two teams played to a 48-48 tie.
 
However, a successful foul shot by James with 17:04 to play gave Slippery Rock a 49-48 lead that it would never relinquish for the remainder of regulation.
 
While UPJ kept close through the following seven minutes, Slippery Rock put the game away with a dominant 16-2 run over the middle stages of the second half that gave SRU a commanding 80-62 advantage it would never come close to relinquishing in the eventual 85-67 triumph.
 
Prince accounted for eight points during the decisive run which spurred on SRU's largest victory since defeating Bloomsburg 72-54 on Jan. 2.
 
Slippery Rock closes out its three-game homestand when it hosts Clarion 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in another pivotal conference contest for its annual White Out Game at Morrow Field House. The Rock will be going for another series sweep of a PSAC West foe after earning a 78-71 road win at Clarion earlier in the season.
 
Prior to Saturday's game, the Slippery Rock athletic department honored several of its most historic figures in school history as part of the PSAC's 75th Anniversary Celebration.
 
In the fall, the PSAC recognized 300 of its most prominent contributors across the categories of the 75 Greatest Female Athletes, 75 Greatest Male Athletes, Made in the PSAC and Distinguished Keystones. The Rock featured 27 individuals among the honorees by the conference.





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