Seton Hill returned to the McKenna Center Saturday following three straight road games when they hosted Slippery Rock, who used a strong game from their bench to come away with an 80-67 win over the Griffins.
The Rock took the lead right out of the gate, opening the contest with a 13-6 run. Seton Hill answered back, as consecutive baskets by
Jimmy Moon ignited their 8-2 run and the Griffins were back with a point at 15-14. The teams swapped scores over the next few minutes and it was still a one-point spread after a three-pointer by
Miles Monchecourt and a driving lay-in by
Jaylen Stewart made it a 20-19 Rock lead with seven minutes on the clock.
The half closed with The Rock making a run. They scored five quick points that began a 16-5 spurt over the final seven minutes of the half. Two Rock hoops in the final 37 seconds sent the visitors into the locker room with a 36-24 advantage.
Samuel Tabe led the Griffins with six points at the break.
After halftime, The Rock continued to extend their lead, as they scored the first seven points of the period.
Drew Green broke the streak with a bucket for Seton Hill, but a three-point play on the other end gave Slippery Rock a 46-26 cushion.
The SRU lead hovered around that mark for most of the half and stood at 65-44 with five minutes remaining before Seton Hill heated up from the outside. A three by
Ryan Meis was followed by consecutive treys from Moon. A couple minutes later, Meis and Stewart cashed in back-to-back triples, which was followed by a
Michael Joiner hoop, and the Griffins were within 11 at 74-63 with just over a minute to play. That was as close as the Griffins would get, as Slippery Rock, who had 37 points produced by players off the bench in the game, made four free throws and a late basket to hold off the comeback attempt.
Moon was the top scorer for the Griffins in the defeat, as he dropped in 16 and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds while also making a pair of steals. Meis reached double figures as well with 13 and Stewart came off the bench to fire in 12.
Seton Hill is back at home for its next game, as they will host Cal on Wednesday in a 7:30 pm tip-off.
