Slippery Rock men’s basketball returned home to defeat the Mercyhurst University Lakers after winning their road duel at Edinboro University.
Things looked grim for The Rock earlier this season when they dropped six straight games after winning their first two. Since then, the men have gone for eight wins and four losses, squeaking into Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament contention.
On the back of Duquesne University transfer Austin Maceo, SRU can now see the finish line.
Maceo has climbed to seventh place in the PSAC scoring ranks as he averages 18 points per game thus far.
The graduate student has compiled seven 20-plus point games this season to put him in the top 20 for Slippery Rock history in such a category.
The six-foot-five guard has added new scoring levels to this team that have propelled them to new heights.
Senior Lashon Lindsey has worked excellently with Maceo and continued to put up numbers himself.
Lindsey is now just 13 blocks away from being in the top three for Slippery Rock all-time.
Along with that, Lindsey’s contributions on the glass have been astonishing as he has led the White and Green to first place amongst the PSAC in rebounds with 791.
Lindsey sits second just behind Jordan Kellier (West Chester University) with 178 boards of his own.
The dynamic duo of Lindsey and Maceo has propelled SRU to fourth in the PSAC-West just behind rival Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
After winning two straight, a matchup against fifth-place Seton Hill University looms.
With a win, Seton Hill would jump The Rock in the standings and steal a potential tournament berth.
The stakes could not be higher as The Griffins come to Morrow Field House.
Earlier this season, the White and Green fell to the Griffins in their barn by a score of 70-63.
This was the only game all season a team was able to hold Maceo under ten points.
Amid Maceo being locked up, redshirt sophomore Luke Howes stepped up tallying 15 points on thirty-five minutes played.
However, it was not enough, and the absent contributions of Lindsey and Maceo were apparent.
Lindsey, however, did post eight rebounds during the game and helped SRU to 13 second-chance points, a statistic they will look to repeat this time around.
Slippery Rock will hope to snap their three-game losing streak to the Griffins and defeat them this Saturday, Feb. 3 at Morrow Field House.
