Late 3 lifts Rock men
SLIPPERY ROCK — Why score two when three will do?
That's been the motto for the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team this season.
Trailing by a point late Wednesday against Mercyhurst College, Maron Brown received a pass just beyond the 3-point arc, squared his shoulders and lofted a perfect shot that gave SRU a two-point lead with 10 seconds left.
The lead held up as The Rock came away with a dramatic 82-80 victory in the PSAC West opener.
"That was the play," said Slippery Rock coach Kevin Reynolds. "We wanted to shoot it quick in case we missed so we could put it back in. Luckily, we didn't have to worry about that scenario."
Brown made sure of that.
The 6-foot-5 junior forward, who was featured on the game-day program, was on target all night — and he knew it.
"I felt the shot. I just let it go and luckily it went in," Brown said. "That's all I can say. ... I felt I was on all night."
Brown scored 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He was even better from 3-point range, hitting 4-of-7.
As a team, nearly half of Slippery Rock's shot attempts were 3-pointers.
They weren't all going in, however.
But The Rock had 13 offensive rebounds and got 31 points from Jabril Bailey to lead all scorers. Bailey was 10-of-17 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the free throw line.
"He's a skilled player. We just need him to keep getting better," Reynolds said.
Wednesday was Bailey's night, but SRU's trademark has been balance. It wasn't there against Mercyhurst (10-4, 0-1) — only Brown, Bailey and Maurice Douglas scored in double-digits — but the win was there.
It was a tough PSAC West opener for The Rock (12-2, 1-0). SRU led by eight points at halftime, but watched that lead slowly erode until a Mercyhurst spurt put the Lakers up by six midway through the second half.
The Rock stayed poised, however, and roared back to tie the game at 74 with a little more than two minutes remaining.
"We were able to keep our head, our composure, and fight through," Reynolds said.
The one that got away.That's how SRU women's basketball coach Laurel Heilman categorized The Rock's loss Wednesday night."You have to seize the moment, in conference especially," Heilman said. "To me, it was there for the taking."The Rock (3-11, 0-1) led by two at the end of an ugly first half, but a 10-0 run by Mercyhurst early in the second half wrested the lead away.SRU got as close as one point with 1:30 remaining but couldn't score again.The plan was simple for The Rock: keep the ball out of the hands of Mercyhurst junior post and Butler High graduate Amy Achesinski.The plan worked well for most of the game as Achesinski finished with just 12 points and six rebounds for the Lakers (9-4, 1-0).But SRU was unable to take advantage of a strong defensive effort.Nikki Presto had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Grove City High grad Julie Molloy added 14 for The Rock.The other three starters, though, combined for 13 points and five rebounds.Presto again nearly willed The Rock to a win."(Nikki) can't do it alone," Heilman said. "She needs some help."This isn't a season-breaker," she added. "But this could be one that comes back to haunt you."<B>MENMERCYHURST COLLEGE 80</B>Jordan Armstrong 7-11 5-7 19, Christian Cornelius 6-12 0-2 12, Nnamdi Nnadili 3-5 0-0 7, Shelton Jackson 2-4 4-4 9, Jason Snow 3-7 1-1 7, Ronnie Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Heiden Ratner 5-10 2-3 17, Jeremiah Wise 0-2 0-0 0, Stu Anglum 0-1 0-0 0, Ryann Bradford 2-6 2-2 6, Elliot Engelmann 1-4 1-2 3. <B>Totals:</B> 29-62 15-21 80.<B>SRU 82</B>Maron Brown 9-17 1-2 23, Jabril Bailey 10-17 10-11 31, Mike Evans Jr. 2-12 0-1 6, Maurice Douglas 3-11 5-6 13, Andre Tarver 3-6 2-5 9, Gary Satterwhite 0-1 0-0 0, Cecil Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Bryen Spriggs 0-0 0-0 0, Jade Burka 0-1 0-0 0. <B>Totals:</B> 27-67 18-25 82.<B>Halftime score: </B>SRU 46-38<B>3-point goals:</B> Mercyhurst 7 (Nnadili, Jackson, Ratner 5); SRU 10 (Brown 4, Bailey, Evans Jr. 2, Douglas 2, Tarver).<B>WOMENMERCYHURST COLLEGE 57</B>Nikki Frederickson 1-4 0-0 2, Amy Achesinski 3-5 6-9 12, Megan Hoffman 2-6 1-2 7, Samantha Loadman 2-8 4-4 10, Kelsey Gordon 4-4 0-0 10, Kaylee Foster 1-2 1-2 3, Lindsey Burke 0-0 0-0 0, Lindsay Whipkey 3-4 0-0 6, Kate Carbee 0-3 1-2 1. <B>Totals:</B> 18-41 13-19 57.<B>SRU 51</B>Amanda Mikatavage 2-5 0-0 4, Julie Molloy 5-8 0-0 14, Nikki Presto 5-12 5-6 11, Bethany Caudill 2-11 2-2 7, Grace Palucis 0-4 2-2 2, Kara Lazauskas 0-1 0-0 0, Sandra Busser 0-2 0-0 0, Alex Beatty 0-4 0-0 0, Katelyn Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Emilee Vitez 0-2 1-2 1, Tynesha Lee 2-5 3-3 7. <B>Totals:</B> 16-53 13-15 51.<B>Halftime score:</B> SRU 25-23<B>3-point goals:</B> Mercyhurst College 8 (Hoffman 2, Loadman 2, Banda 2, Gordon 2); SRU 6 (Molloy 4, Presto, Caudill).
