Boxscore

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University's flickering hope for a second straight appearance in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament remained alive Wednesday night as The Rock escaped Thomas Field House with a 60-59 come-from-behind win over hosting Lock Haven University.

The Rock never led in the game until the final minute of action and the final one-point margin was only its second lead of the game.

Junior guard Jabril Bailey's layup with 15 seconds left accounted for the winning points.

The win, coupled with California's loss to Indiana, moved The Rock (15-9 overall, 4-7 PSAC-W) into a tie for fifth place in the division standings.

The Rock heads into Saturday's home game vs. Clarion tied with California and Edinboro, two games behind both Gannon and Mercyhurst, who are tied for third place, with three PSAC-West games left on the Green and White's regular-season schedule.

The loss dropped Lock Haven's record to 6-16 overall, 3-8 in PSAC-West action, and eliminated the Bald Eagles from the chase for a conference playoff berth.

Bailey finished the game with 10 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Maron Brown had 11 points and six rebounds.

Eric Brennan and Warren Christian scored 16 points each for Lock Haven to share game-high honors.

The Rock shot 34% (21-62) from the field in the game, including a 22% (5-23) efficiency from 3-point range, and sank 77% (13-17) of its free throws.

SRU also won the rebounding battle with a slim 41-37 margin and had less turnovers, 12-10.

Lock Haven lost despite shooting 42% (25-59) from the field. The Bald Eagles hurt themselves by making only 19% (3-16) of their 3-point tries and six of 10 free throws.

A layup by senior guard Cecil Brown with 33 seconds left to play gave SRU its first lead of the game, 58-57. Lock Haven regained the lead seven seconds later before Bailey scored the eventual game-winning basket.

The win wasn't secure, though, until an off-balance, desperation 3-point shot by Lock Haven's Dalexis Pena missed the mark just prior to the final buzzer.

The Rock, who beat Lock Haven by an 84-59 score Jan. 27 in the teams' first meeting in SRU's Morrow Field House, were victorious despite having sputtering to only 26 points in the first half of action.

That point total was SRU's third lowest of the season and marked the fourth time in the last five games The Rock had failed to score at least 30 points in the first half. By comparison, The Rock failed to reach the 30-point mark only once in its first 19 games this winter.

Another indication of how poorly The Rock offense performed in the opening half of action is the fact SRU held a 46-20 lead over Lock Haven at halftime in the Jan. 27 game.

Taking advantage of The Rock's shooting woes, Lock Haven scored the first seven points of the game and pulled out to a 10-point, 21-11, lead after 12 minutes of action.

The Rock responded with a 15-6 run in the next six and a half minutes to trim the deficit to one point, 27-26, with two minutes left in the first half. The Bald Eagles then scored the only points mustered in the final 120 seconds to take a three-point, 29-26, lead into the intermission.

The guests opened the second half the same way it did the first stanza as they scored six of the first eight points to take a 35-28 lead with 18 minutes left in the game. The Rock then used a 7-1 run in the next two minutes to again trim the margin to one point, 36-35.

Undaunted, Lock Haven answered with an 11-3 run to take a nine-point, 47-38, lead with 12 minutes remaining.

Just less than eight minutes later, The Rock still trailed by nine points, 57-48. That set the stage for a furious closing stretch.

The Rock ran off 10 unanswered points in the next three and a half minutes to take its first lead of the game, on Cecil Brown's layup with 33 seconds remaining.

After Lock Haven regained the lead on a basket by Sharif Bolton with 26 ticks left, Bailey drove to the basket for the winning points and The Rock second and final lead of the game.

Following Saturday's home game with Clarion, The Rock will entertain California next Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the final Morrow Field House game this winter.