After losing to rivals California (Pa.) and Indiana (Pa.) by a combined five points over the last two games, the Slippery Rock men’s basketball team made sure to put Seton Hill away quickly.
Slippery Rock (7-8, 3-6 PSAC) scored the first seven point of the game and rode the momentum to a 78-54 win over Seton Hill Saturday, Jan. 11. After a season-low three-point percentage against Indiana, SRU set a new season-high against the Griffins on the way to the win.
Riding a 12-2 run over the first five minutes of the game, Slippery Rock capitalized on the strong play of senior forward Will Robinson, Jr., who scored the first five points of the game and seven of the first 16 for SRU.
Shooting seven of 11 from the field in the first half, Robinson led both teams with 16 points as Slippery Rock jumped out to a 39-28 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same as Slippery Rock coasted to a comfortable 24 point victory behind a nine for 13 performance behind the arc, a more than 50 point jump from the game against Indiana.
While shooting 55% from the field and 69% from beyond the arc, Slippery Rock stifled Seton Hill (2-10, 1-8 PSAC) to the tune of a 37% from the field and 19% from beyond the arc.
Seton Hill was never able to cut more than 14 points into Slippery Rock’s lead as SRU led by 26 at the peak of the second half and cruised to a 24 point victory, the second largest of the season.
Leaders
SRU: Continuing a trend, Robinson led Slippery Rock with a game-high 25 points and came up one rebound short a double-double. Senior forward Micah Till continued his comeback from injury with 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Junior guard Deontae Robertson grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds to go along with his seven points.
SHU: Nathan Davis led Seton Hill with 12 points while Jimmy Moon followed him up with 11 points of his own.
Big Picture
SRU: With the win, Slippery Rock continues to climb back into the playoff picture, improving to 7-8 on the season and 5-6 in the conference.
Despite losses to Indiana and California, Slippery Rock has gotten the job done against Clarion and Seton Hill to stay afloat in the highly competitive PSAC-West. With only one crossover game left, SRU will begin the crux of its season soon.
SHU: With the loss, Seton Hill drops to 2-10 on the season and 1-8 in the conference.
At 1-8 in the conference, Seton Hill will likely be unable to mount a competitive push for the playoffs this season.
Up Next
Slippery Rock will be back in action at home against Millersville on Wednesday, Jan. 13 for the final PSAC crossover game of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
