The Rocket

Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Joey Kennedy The Rock's Darnell Johnson dribbles past an Edinboro defender in a game earlier this year. Johnson, a junior guard, is currently averaging 10.3 points and 4.9 steals per game this year. [Click to enlarge]

The Slippery Rock men's basketball team snapped its nine-game losing streak against Lock Haven, but then lost its concentration in a loss to rival IUP.

In the 61-53 loss, the Rock, whose record dropped to 3-14, held the lead for the majority of the second half until the five-minute mark, when six consecutive turnovers helped the Crimson Hawks (10-7, 2-0) score 11 straight points.

"The turnovers were key coming down to the wire. They really killed us," junior Jamar Scales said.

The Rock finally stopped the bleeding when Itay Levi drilled a 3-pointer with eight seconds left when the game was out of reach.

Rock Head Coach Jamal Palmer was not pleased with the effort of his team in the closing moments of the game.

"We became rattled in the last four and a half minutes and couldn't handle the pressure," Palmer said. "We hurt ourselves with eight bad possessions."

The Rock had a chance to steal the win from IUP, dominating the Hawks in every statistical category other than turnovers and fouls.

"We actually outrebounded someone, but the turnovers killed us," Palmer said.

Junior Erroll Robinson led the team in rebounds with six, while Scales paced the offense with 14 points. Senior Ken Ottrix scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds while rejecting four shots coming off the bench.

A win would have boosted the Rock's hopes for playoffs.

"(Getting a win) would have been very important to us," Scales said. "It would have given us momentum for the push to the playoffs. The hope for the playoffs is still here, (but) we would have had a better chance for it."

Continued...

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