Demetrius Mims
Matt Durisko
63
Gannon Gannon 12-12,9-11 PSAC
68
Winner Slippery Rock SRU 15-10,11-8 PSAC
Gannon Gannon
12-12,9-11 PSAC
63
Final
68
Slippery Rock SRU
15-10,11-8 PSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 30 33 63
Slippery Rock SRU 34 34 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Mims Keys Second Half Surge in 68-63 Loss at Slippery Rock

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Demetrius Mims (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) scored 25 points and Lance-Amir Paul (Kingston, Jamaica/Putnam Science Academy) added 22 but Slippery Rock came up with a key offensive rebound in the final seconds to hold off Gannon on Saturday afternoon by a 68-63 score at Morrow Field House. The Golden Knights are now 12-12 and 9-11 in the PSAC West, while Slippery Rock won its fourth straight game to move to 15-10 and 11-8 in league play.

When Slippery Rock took a 55-40 lead thanks to a 9-0 run with just over ten minutes to play, the contest looked eerily similar to Wednesday's meeting at the Highmark Events Center, which The Rock won 71-58.

This time around, Mims took over and put the Golden Knights on his back and led a furious comeback. Gannon held SRU scoreless for over four minutes and Mims almost single-handedly pulled the Knights to within 55-51 as they ran off 11 straight points. The 6'6" redshirt sophomore scored the final seven points on a variety of inside moves, but he was just getting started.

Lashon Lindsey's short jumper at the 5:59 mark snapped the run. Mims followed with a bucket to make it nine straight points he scored. After Alonde LeGrand (Harlem, N.Y./Berkshire) made one of two free throws, Mims extended his personal string to 13 of 14 points for the Knights with two more layups. When Paul drained a 3-pointer, the Golden Knights suddenly found themselves within a basket at 63-61 with 31 seconds left.

Gannon was forced to foul and Tyler Frederick made the ensuing two free throws. Paul came up empty on a contested layup and Frederick grabbed the rebound. He missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Paul's reverse layup made it 65-63 with 12 seconds left.

Frankie Hughes stepped to the line for another one-and-one after a Gannon foul. His first hit the front of the rim and crawled in. He misfired on the second, but Frederick was able to gather in the offensive rebound. He was fouled with four seconds left and made two free throws for the final margin.

Mims scored 15 of his points in the second half and ended up making 10 of 22 field goals along with 5 of 7 free throws. He has now scored 20-or-more points in three games. He led Gannon with seven rebounds.  Paul topped the 20-point mark for the eighth time, He made three 3-pointers and went 5 of 5 at the line, adding six rebounds and 4 assists. This marked the third time this year two Golden Knights scored 20-or-more points in a game.

Gannon shot 39.0 percent from the floor (23 of 59), making 6 of 15 3-pointers, and going 11 of 14 from the line. SRU shot 47.2 percent (25 of 53) and went 7 of 24 from beyond the arc and 11 of 15 at the charity stripe.

After Slippery Rock outrebounded Gannon by nine on Wednesday, the Golden Knights won the rebound battle, 35-32. Both teams rank among the top five teams in the PSAC in rebounding. Kevin Dodds (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) had six rebounds for the Knights, with Ali Ragab (Cairo, Egypt/Rocktop Academy) adding five.

In a season filled with numerous injuries, Gannon welcomed back Alonde LeGrand (Harlem, N.Y./Berkshire). The 6'7":graduate student had missed five of the last seven games. He played 27 minutes, contributing four points and three rebounds. 

Amante Britt paced Slippery Rock with 19 points, adding six rebounds. Frederick added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double double against Gannon, and Jonathan McFall had 11 points.

Gannon is back in action on Monday, February 21 playing at Clarion in a makeup contest. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. A win would secure the final playoff berth in the PSAC West, as would a Mercyhurst win over Edinboro on Saturday evening.
 
 
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