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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa – Senior forward Maron Brown recorded his 14th “double-double” of the season Saturday afternoon in Morrow Field House but could not lead the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team to victory against Indiana (Pa.).

Brown scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to claim game-high honors in both categories.

Junior guard Devin Taylor added 11 points and five rebounds for the only other double-digit scoring effort recorded by a Rock player.

Darryl Webb scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Indiana.

Saturday's win gives Indiana (16-5 overall, 7-2 PSAC-W), the No. 2 team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division standings, a half-game lead over The Rock (17-7, 7-3 PSAC-W).

Indiana also now owns the tiebreaker vs. The Rock in the quest to host a first-round playoff game March 1, thanks to its sweep of this winter's two-game series between the teams. The Crimson Hawks won an 84-67 decision Jan. 15 in Indiana.

The top two teams in the division standings at the end of regular-season action will host opening-round games. The top four teams in the division earn playoff berths.

SRU will look to regain its winning ways and move one step closer to securing its second PSAC tournament berth in the last three seasons when it travels to California (Pa.) for an 8 p.m. game Wednesday.

That opens a three-game road trip for the Green and White, who travel to division-leading Mercyhurst (Feb. 19) and Gannon (Feb. 23) before hosting Edinboro in the final home game Feb. 26 (3 p.m. tipoff).

The Rock and Crimson Hawks battled tooth and nail throughout the first half of action Saturday, during which the lead changed hands 10 times and the score was tied on five occasions.

The Rock held a 25-21 lead with 4:45 left until halftime before Indiana ran off eight unanswered points and put together a 12-3 run to take a five-point, 33-28, lead into the intermission.

SRU shot 39% (12-31) from the field, 38% (3-8) from 3-point range and made one of two free throws in the opening 20 minutes of action. Indiana, meanwhile, shot 38% (12-31) from the field, 27% (3-11) from long range and 86% (6-7) from the foul line.

Indiana held a 21-19 edge in rebounding at the half, while each team committed nine turnovers. The Crimson Hawks converted Rock errors into six points, while The Rock scored four points off Indiana turnovers.

The Rock scored almost half of their first-half points on offensive rebounds, compared to four second-chance points for Indiana, and the hosts outscored the guests by an 18-8 margin “in the paint.”

Brown led The Rock's first-half scoring effort with 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Taylor had seven points and senior guard Rashiid Coleman added five points in a substitute role.

Willi Estrella and Scooter Renkin each scored eight first-half points for Indiana, while Ashton Smith added seven points and Webb five points and seven rebounds.

Brown scored seven points in an 8-0 Rock run to open the second half of action that gave the Green and White a 36-33 lead with 16 minutes left to play in the game.

Three and a half minutes later, though, Indiana regained the lead and took a 39-36 lead on the strength of a 6-0 run.

The Rock trimmed the deficit to one point, 42-41, with 10 minutes left to play but was never able to regain the lead in the final 12 and a half minutes.

Indiana's largest lead of the game was a 13-point, 63-50, advantage with just less than a minute left to play.

The Rock finished the game with a 35% (19-54) efficiency on its field goal attempts, a 20% (3-15) reading from beyond the 3-point arc and a 61% (11-18) effort from the foul line.

Indiana shot 37% (22-59) from the field, 19% (3-16) from long range and 71% (17-24) from the foul line.

Behind Brown's lead, The Rock held a 40-39 edge in rebounds but the hosts also turned the ball over more often, 20-15.

The Rock held a 30-28 edge in “in the paint” scoring and a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points, but were outscored by 11-10 and 15-9 margins off turnovers and “off the bench.”

Note:

The Rock's point total Saturday was its lowest of the season. The previous low was 54 points in the second game of the season, a 61-54 loss Nov. 13 to Alderson-Broaddus (W. Va.) at the PSAC/WVIAC Challenge hosted by Shepherd University ... With his stellar effort Saturday, Brown improved his career totals to 1,171 points (11th all-time at SRU) and 780 rebounds (9th all-time at SRU). He needs 30 points to break into the top 10 in career scoring and 13 rebounds to move into 8th place on the rebounds chart ... Saturday's loss was The Rock's fourth straight against Indiana and gives third-year Rock head coach Kevin Reynolds a 2-4 record against the Crimson Hawks.