Box Score Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Lance McDowell scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, and Corey Blake added 14 points off the bench as host West Chester defeated visiting Slippery Rock, 69-55, in a PSAC men’s basketball tilt inside Hollinger Field House Saturday afternoon.
Blake hit a jumper with 11:44 remaining to move West Chester (2-1, 1-0) in front for good (41-40) and spark an 18-9 run over the next 6:35 that put Slippery Rock (1-1, 0-1) away. The Golden Rams would increase that lead to as much as 14 by the end of the game as the hosts ran out the contests on a 28-14 run from Blake’s jumper to the final horn. For the first 29 minutes of the game, it was anybody’s contest with four ties and eight lead changes. West Chester led by as much as eight, but Slippery Rock battled back to take the lead eventually. It was a one-point ballgame at halftime (26-25).
Jon Breeden added 11 points and six assists while Carl Johnson netted nine points off the bench and Khalif Foster had eight from his starting position.
West Chester shot 46.4 percent (26 of 56) from the floor including 5-for-12 (.417) from beyond the 3-point arc. Slippery Rock managed just 19-for-56 (.339) from the field and went 5 of 21 from 3-point range. They committed 19 turnovers.
Jon Valeriano and Aubin Reeves each had 12 points for The Rock. Devin Taylor scored nine points, including a one-handed dunk on a put-back, and grabbed 13 rebounds.
West Chester is home Sunday in the second game of this weekend’s PSAC crossover with the Western Division. The Golden Rams host Mercyhurst at 3 p.m. The Lakers defeated Millersville, 84-75, on Saturday.
