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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa – Senior guard Jabril Bailey banked in an off-balance jump shot from 12 feet out on the right side of the key with 0.9 seconds left Wednesday night to give the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team a 69-67 win over visiting Gannon University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action in Morrow Field House.

The win was the third straight recorded by The Rock (15-6 overall, 5-2 PSAC-W) and temporarily gave the Green and White sole possession of second place in the division standings.

SRU entered the game tied with Indiana (Pa.) for second place behind division-leading Mercyhurst, but IUP's game at Lock Haven was postponed until Feb. 21 due to inclement weather.

Gannon suffered its fourth loss in the last five games and saw its season record fall to 10-8 overall, 2-5 in division play.

The Rock will look to retain its prominent place in the standings Saturday when it visits Clarion for a 7:30 p.m. division game.

SRU then opens a two-game homestand next Wednesday with an 8 p.m. game against Lock Haven. Indiana comes to town Feb. 12 for a 3 p.m. game.

Senior forward Maron Brown scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead The Rock attack, while Bailey finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Brown was one of four Rock players to grab six rebounds in the game.

Travis Brannen scored 16 points lead a group of four Gannon players who finished the game with double-digit scoring totals.

SRU finished the game with a 44% (26-59) efficiency on its field goal attempts with a 15% (2-13) showing from 3-point range and hit on 71% (15-21) of its free throw opportunities.

The Rock also held a 38-27 rebounding advantage and committed one less turnover (14-13) than their guests. SRU outscored Gannon by a 29-18 margin “off the bench” and by a 34-22 margin “in the paint.”

Gannon finished the game with a 45% (23-51) efficiency from the field, hit 40% (6-15) long-range shots and sank 79% (15-10) of its free throws.

The Rock held a three-point, 34-31, lead at the intermission but were outscored by a 14-5 margin in the first four-plus minutes of the second half and trailed by a 45-39 margin with 15:45 left to play.

SRU responded with a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 46-45 with 13:30 left, but all did was start a string of five lead changes in the next four minutes.

A 5-0 Rock run gave the hosts a 59-52 lead with seven minutes left before Gannon put together a 13-6 run to tie the score at 65-65 with 1:15 left.

The score was tied again at 67 before Bailey banked home the game-winning basket. Gannon's last-ditch effort to retie the score went astray via an errant pass.

The frenetic second half of action mirrored an equally give-and-take opening 20 minutes.

Brown scored the first points of the game on a jumper after 15 seconds had elapsed to give The Rock its only lead in the first 14 and a half minutes of action.

Gannon led by seven points on three occasions during that time span, the final one a 21-14 bulge with 14:30 left, but was unable to sustain the effort.

The Rock knotted the count on five occasions, the final one a 23-23 deadlock with 6:30 left before intermission.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Brown with 5:20 left in the half gave The Rock a 26-23 edge and the hosts never trailed the rest of the way to intermission.

SRU led by as many as five points on three occasions before taking a 34-31 advantage into the break.

Brown scored 11 of The Rock's first-half points while Bailey added eight. Battle and Brannen each scored eight for Gannon.

The Rock shot 42% (14-33) from the field, an icy 11% (1-9) from 3-point range and a lukewarm 71% (5-7) from the foul line in the opening half.

Gannon, on the other hand, shot 41% (11-27) from the field, 25% (2-8) from 3-point range and nailed all seven charity tosses in the opening 20 minutes.

The Rock held a slim 18-17 rebounding edge at the break and also had less turnovers, 9-6.

The hosts also made better use of their opponent's miscues as they outscored the Golden Knights by an 11-2 margin in points off turnovers. SRU also held a 15-6 advantage in scoring “off the bench.”

Notes:

With Wednesday's win, Kevin Reynolds set an SRU record for most victories by a men's basketball coach in his first three seasons. Reynolds now owns a 51-26 record as The Rock's boss, which ranks seventh on the school's all-time wins list … With the win, The Rock also matched its win total of a year ago when the Green and White finished with a 15-12 overall record and a 4-10 division mark.