Box Score

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Shippensburg men's basketball team faced what was arguably its toughest opponent of the season on Sunday afternoon from Morrow Field House and responded with its best showing of the young season, building a double-digit lead in the second half and holding on down the stretch for a 77-74 victory over previously-unbeaten Slippery Rock.

Shippensburg (7-4) had a slew of strong performances but perhaps none greater than that of redshirt senior Daziah Miller, who shot 10-of-19 from the field and had a game-high 23 points to complement seven rebounds. Leading by one point with 12 seconds to go, Miller drained a pair of free throws that ultimately clinched the win for SU.

Facing the league's second-best scoring offense in The Rock - a team that averages over 10 three-pointers a game - SU played physical defense on the road, committed just 10 turnovers and capitalized on high-percentage shots. The Red Raiders shot 48 percent from the field, including 16-of-32 (50 percent) in the first half, while limiting the Rock to its second-lowest scoring output of the season and a .389 field-goal percentage.

Slippery Rock (10-1), who led before the game even started due to a technical foul assessed on Shippensburg for an alleged dunk in warmups, built a first-half lead of as many as seven points before the Red Raiders tied the score at 19-19 on a pair of free throws from sophomore Craig Van Scyoc. The score would become tied four more times in the half before a pair of free throws by Brian Oleksiak gave SU a 39-37 lead at intermission.

Another huge key to the game was the response by Shippensburg to start the second half, as the Red Raiders came out with an emotional rush and made their first four shots from the field to build a nine-point lead with 17:43 to go. SU capped off its 16-6 run over the first six minutes of the half with a layup from Miller in which he was fouled and responded to his hard-earned bucket with an emotional roar in the paint that echoed through the gym.

The Rock began to creep back into the game with its three-pointers, as a trifecta from Maurice Douglas cut SU's lead to four points with nine minutes remaining. The Red Raiders responded, as a three-pointer from junior Justin Minter bumped the lead to six points at the 6:47 mark and another trifecta from redshirt freshman guard Lamar Jackson made it a six-point game with 4:08 to go.

A layup from Miller built SU's lead to seven points with 55 seconds to go before some high drama ensued in the final minute. Shippensburg missed the front end of successive one-and-one free-throw scenarios that led to a pair of layups for The Rock, and an SU turnover with 12 seconds to go helped Slippery Rock get within one point of the lead.

Miller was fouled on the next possession and responded yet again with his aforementioned clutch free throws. Some tough Red Raider defense on The Rock's possession resulted in a foul on a jump shot with one second left. Jabril Bailey missed both attempts from the charity stripe and SU killed the clock on the ensuing in-bounds pass for the win.

Minter had another strong effort, totaling 12 points and three rebounds, while redshirt sophomore Will Royal added 11 points. Redshirt freshman Wes Kirkland had eight points and four rebounds in 16 solid minutes, Jackson had seven points and two assists while Oleksiak had five points, four rebounds and two assists.

Shippensburg will return home next Saturday for a 3 p.m. crossover against No. 4 Indiana (Pa.), who won an 81-72 decision on Sunday at No. 25 West Chester.