Final statistics
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Senior forward
Maron Brown recorded game-high totals of 24 points and 12 rebounds Saturday afternoon to lead Slippery Rock University to a 75-58 win over visiting Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's basketball “crossover” action.
The double-double was the ninth recorded by Brown this winter and 35th of his three-year Rock career.
Behind Brown's lead, The Rock rang the victory bell for the ninth time in its last 11 outings and improved its season record to 9-4.
Bloomsburg saw its season record fall to 4-7.
The Rock returns to action at 3 p.m. Sunday, when it hosts Mansfield in the fourth and final game of the PSAC interdivisional season series.
Bloomsburg, meanwhile, travels to Erie to take on Mercyhurst College in its final interdivisional game.
SRU closes out it three-game homestand and opens the PSAC-Western Division schedule with an 8 p.m. date Wednesday with Clarion, which began action Saturday with a perfect 9-0 record.
Brown was one of four Rock players to finish Saturday's game with double-digit scoring totals. Senior guard
Jabril Bailey chipped in 13 points and six rebounds, while senior guards
Torrance Timothy and
Rashiid Coleman added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior guard
Jon Valeriano handed out seven assists.
Bloomsburg was led in scoring by Lorenzo Christmas' 15 points. John Schwarz added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Huskies buried the first three 3-point shots they took and, as a result, held a 9-2 lead after three and a half minutes of action.
The Rock responded with a 12-4 run to take a 14-13 lead on a free throw by Brown with 11:15 left before halftime.
That set the stage for an 11-minute stretch in which the score was tied five more times and the lead changed hands seven times.
The Rock scored the final nine points of the half to erase a 33-30 deficit and take a 39-33 lead into the intermission. Brown and senior forward
Joe Vines each scored a pair of baskets during that run, which gave The Rock a lead they would not relinquish.
Brown finished the half with 10 points and five rebounds to complement an 11-point first-half effort by Timothy.
The Rock shot 41% (15-37) from the field, 20% (2-10) from 3-point range and 78% (7-9) from the foul line.
Bloomsburg, meanwhile, hit on 43% (13-30) of its action shots, 50% (4-8) of its 3-point attempts and three of four free throws.
The Rock held a 22-19 rebounding advantage and also had less turnovers, 9-4, than the guests at halftime. The Green and White also held a 22-14 scoring advantage “in the paint” and a 19-6 margin in scoring “off the bench.”
The Rock continued its run following the intermission as they outscored the Huskies by an 8-4 margin in the first three-plus minutes to take a 47-37 lead with 16:45 left to play in the game.
Seven minutes later, the Huskies had clawed back to within four points, 56-52, but The Rock then went on a 8-0 run to push the lead to 12 points, 64-52, with 5:45 remaining.
The Rock followed that run with a 11-5 spurt that extended the margin to 18 points, 75-57, with 1:45 left and set the stage for 105 seconds of mop-up action.
Final statistics showed The Rock shooting 41% (27-66) from the field, 31% (5-16) from 3-point range and 76% (16-21) from the foul line.
Bloomsburg ended the game with a 43% (22-51) accuracy on field goals, a 50% (5-10) on treys and a frigid 45% (9-20) effort at the foul line.
SRU outrebounded BU by a 46-32 margin and was on the low side of a 17-10 turnover comparison.
The Rock enjoyed a 34-12 scoring advantage off the bench and a 36-26 margin “in the paint.”
Notes:
Brown now needs 37 points to become the 20th player in Rock men's basketball history to score 1,000 or more career points. He ranks 13th in career rebounds with 679 and needs 22 to move into 12th place … Saturday's win was the 45th recorded in three seasons by Rock head coach Kevin, a 1991 Bloomsburg graduate. He needs five wins to set a school record for most wins by a Rock coach in his first three seasons, as well as to move into a tie for eighth place on the school's all-time wins list.