Slippery Rock University coach John Marhefka was concerned his team was looking ahead to the holidays in the first half of its game against Bloomsburg.

In the second half, The Rock seemed refreshed, but the Huskies were able to fend off a late rally in a 78-70 men's basketball victory Wednesday.

SRU (1-8) overcame a 12-point second half deficit to take the lead with 3:55 remaining, but Bloomsburg's experience down the stretch played a key role.

"When you're young and losing and on holiday break, it's tough. "It seems everyone wants to get out early," said Marhefka. "Our guys' second-half effort was where we needed to be, but we need to do that in the first half."

"They made some shots and they picked up their defense and some of our stuff would not go down," said Huskies coach Terry Conrad.

Bloomsburg (3-8) led 47-35 just 11 seconds into the second half before The Rock went on a 16-6 run, with seven points coming from Dejan Jancic and five from Matt Hale, including a 3-pointer to make it 53-51 with 14:39 left.

However, the Huskies slowly rebuilt the lead to nine points, 65-56, with 7:35 remaining and held a 66-58 lead before The Rock rolled off the game's next 10 points.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Matt Hale and Matt Schaefer were followed by baskets by Jancic and Erroll Robinson to give SRU a 68-66 lead with 3:55 left.

"Everyone's good when things are going your way," said Marhefka. "Our guys have to learn that they can win."

Ernest Cherry made a free throw with 3:35 left and another at 2:24 to pull the Huskies even, then Billy Bryan scored on a goaltending call on Jancic with 2:00 left to give them the lead.

Jancic drained a pair of free throws with 1:32 left to knot the game at 70, but it was all Bloomsburg after that.

A Cherry tip-in and a reverse layup by Marion Rose on consecutive possessions opened a four-point margin with 52.5 seconds left. The Huskies iced the game by adding four free throws down the stretch.

"I was pleased with our effort," said Conrad. "Because of academics, we're down to nine players and played Edinboro (Tuesday, an 81-73 loss). We deserve a win and we got it."

The Huskies received a game-high 27 points from Bryan, as well as 15 points and 11 rebounds from Cherry and 11 apiece from Jefferson (who added 10 rebounds) and Rose.

The Rock had 17 points and 13 rebounds from Jancic, 17 points from Hale and 16 from Robinson.

The Rock returns to action Dec. 28 and 29 at the Ashland (Ohio) Tournament.

Both teams were running hot and cold on Wednesday, but in the second half in was The Rock who ran out of steam.Bloomsburg started the game 0-for-15 from the floor while The Rock opened up a 12-1 lead."It was a combination of us not shooting well and we also played a tough game against Edinboro (a 62-47 loss) the night before," said Huskies' coach Tammy Millsaps. "We did not have our legs underneath us," she added.Bloomsburg, though, mounted a 19-1 run early in the second half — highlighted by four 3-pointers and a three-point play — to surge to a 44-32 lead.When Laura Lyons hit her third 3-pointer of the half, Bloomsburg (3-5) led 49-37."I was disappointed in the second half," said SRU coach Laurel Heilman. "They outhustled us."The Huskies would go the next 6:42 without a point, but The Rock (5-5) could muster only eight points over that span as they trimmed the deficit to four, 49-45.Baskets by Jessica Schake and Amber McFeely sandwiched a pair of free throws each by Jess Caso and Schake, respectively."Our press did some good things," said Heilman. "They were winning, but we dictated the tempo."The teams exchanged baskets down the stretch and the Huskies held a 53-50 lead with 28.8 left, but Gabe Miskinis shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds."This game's always about momentum," said Heilman. "Teams at this level, we're not going to put anyone away. In our league, the teams are balanced, intense, physical, big, strong and fast. There are not a lot of weaknesses."The Rock received 11 points from Bonner, all in the first half, and 10 from Amanda Chojnacki. The Huskies were led by Jamie Kauczka, Lyons and Kelly Burkhart, who each contributed 12 points.Next up, The Rock will face the District of Columbia Jan. 3 in another free admission game.Men's BoxBLOOMSBURG (78)Ernest Cherry 5-12 5-7 15, Matt Jefferson 4-10 3-4 11, Mike Cheatle 3-10 0-0 8, Marion Rose 5-10 0-0 11, Billy Bryan 11-18 2-4 27, Seve Cunningham 0-2 1-2 1, Brian Holsey 2-4 0-0 4, Jeremiah Long 0-3 1-2 1. Totals: 30-69 12-19 78.SLIPPERY ROCK (70)Brandon Thompson 2-6 0-0 4, Dejan Jancic 5-9 7-9 17, Matt Schaefer 3-9 0-1 8, Matt Hale 7-14 0-0 17, Erroll Robinson 5-12 6-6 16, Corey Nesser 0-1 0-0 0, Eric Novick 0-0 0-0 0, Jamar Scales 3-5 0-0 6, Tim Dykgraaf 0-0 0-0 0, Joseph Vines 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 26-59 13-16 70.Halftime — Bloomsburg, 45-35. 3-point goals — BU 6-17 (Bryan 3-5, Cheatle 2-9, Rose 1-2, Jefferson 0-1), SRU 5-20 (Hale 3-9, Schaefer 2-5, Nesser 0-1, Scales 0-1, Robinson 0-4). Rebounds — BU 43 (Cherry 11), SRU 33 (Jancic 13). Assists — BU 8 (Cherry, Rose, Bryan 2), SRU 14 (Thompson 6). Total fouls — BU 17, SRU 22. Fouled out — Thompson (SRU); Technical fouls — none.Women's BoxBLOOMSBURG (57)Gabe Miskinis 1-10 7-9 9, Jamie Kauczka 4-10 4-7 12, Kirby Johnson 1-9 0-0 3, Kait Urban 0-3 0-0 0, Laura Lyons 5-10 0-1 12, Kelly Burkhart 4-9 0-0 12, Kelly Joyce 1-4 0-0 2, Angel Huff 3-6 0-0 7. Totals: 19-61 11-17 57.SLIPPERY ROCK (50)Amber McFeely 2-4 1-4 6, Angela Greaser 1-6 0-0 3, Amanda Chojnacki 3-10 4-5 10, Kristen Bonner 4-10 0-0 11, Jessica Schake 2-4 2-2 6, Amanda Nero 1-2 0-0 3, Jess Caso 1-3 2-2 4, Dana Stewart 1-1 1-2 3, Amanda Kaufman 0-1 0-0 0, KellyAnn Staudinger 1-6 2-4 4, Stephanie Schwartz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-48 12-19 50.Halftime — SRU, 28-25. 3-point goals — BU 8-28 (Burkhart 4-9, Lyons 2-6, Huff 1-2, Johnson 1-5, Kauczka 0-1, Urban 0-2, Miskinis 0-3), SRU 6-16 (Bonner 3-8, McFeely 1-1, Nero 1-2, Greaser 1-3, Caso 0-1, Kaufman 0-1). Rebounds — BU 40 (Miskinis 11), SRU 40 (Greaser 7). Assists — BU 10 (Johnson, Burkhart 3), SRU 9 (McFeely , Bonner 3). Total fouls — BU 16, SRU 16. Fouled out — Kauczka (BU, Schake (SRU); Technical fouls — none.