The Slippery Rock men’s basketball team was looking to avoid a four-game skid on Wednesday as they traveled to Edinboro, looking to turn things around in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play.
From the tip, the team was playing a much more efficient game. Although they only took 29 shots in the first half, they were efficient, shooting nearly 45% from the field, while going 3/5 from three.
Meanwhile, Edinboro shot 41% from the field on more shots and 6/16 from beyond the arc in the first half. Despite trailing by five going into the second half, The Rock did not let up.
In the second half, SRU continued to make their presence known in the paint and take advantage of turnovers and rebounds. The team outscored Edinboro in the paint 34-28, and were more efficient on turnovers, forcing nine of them and knocking down 17 points off the turnovers.
The game was a true team effort to force overtime. Brady Mayo led the team with 18 points, and Kerwin Prince and Dame Givner both had double-digit nights, with 16 and 15 respectively. Prince and Isaac James both grabbed seven rebounds apiece as part of the major contributions from everyone who played at least 25 minutes.
Down four with roughly 90 seconds left in regulation, a clutch six straight points from Prince led to a 68-68 tie, highlighted by a layup with 14 seconds to go, forcing overtime.
Overtime did not lead to the desired result for The Rock. After battling early in the extra period, the White and Green failed to keep the pressure up and only scored three points in the final 3:10 of the game, falling short in an 82-75 final.
The team now heads home to face off against No. 7 Gannon University on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. at Morrow Field House. Slippery Rock is looking to get in the win column again against a red-hot Gannon team who are 7-1 on the road.
