On Wednesday, the Slippery Rock men’s basketball team went up against No. 5 Gannon University in one of their final Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) games of the season. The loss dropped their record to 15-10 for the season and 8-9 inside the conference.
From the opening tip, The Rock struggled to keep pace with Gannon. The Golden Knights’ heavy defensive pressure on every possession gave the team hardship from start to finish. Despite the adversity, SRU continued to battle with each trip down the floor.
Four different Rock players had a double-digit night. Leading scorer Brady Mayo paved the way with 14 points, Isaac James and Dame Givner with 13 points each, and Kerwin Prince with 11 points accompanied by nine rebounds.
Despite opening up the first half with a layup by James for the White and Green, Gannon then went on an 11-point spree behind four free throws, two layups and a three-pointer.
Givner was able to put up another five points for The Rock’s side of the scoreboard before the Golden Knights dominated the court.
Slippery Rock picked up speed to close out the first half, tallying 31 more points. They still went into the locker room with a 31-point deficit.
Despite the deficit, the White and Green still had momentum opening the second half. James started the scoring off with a three-pointer, which opened it up for SRU to go on a spree of their own, tallying 15 points in the first five minutes of the half. Gannon only managed to put up six in that time.
SRU closed the half still struggling to match Gannon’s energy.
An otherwise-efficient offensive game was held back by turnovers, as The Rock gave up the ball 26 times while only forcing six turnovers all game.
The team shot 27/55 (49.1%) from the field, which paled in comparison to Gannon’s 43/81 (53.1%). A difference of 26 shoots proved to matter, as The Rock fell by a score of 117-73.
Even after the loss, the team looks to close out their season on a high note. Currently sitting in fourth in the PSAC West division, they can still qualify for the PSAC tournament barring late season surges from Seton Hill, Clarion and Edinboro.
Slippery Rock returns to Morrow Field House to host Seton Hill University on Saturday. With a win, The Rock would secure a spot in the tournament.
The team will have their next two games at home, against Seton Hill and Edinboro respectively, before closing out their regular season against California on the road February 28.
