EDINBORO Fighting Scots (9-14, 2-11 PSAC West) AT SLIPPERY ROCK The Rock (17-8, 8-5 PSAC West)
                 
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
TIPOFF: 8:00 p.m.
SITE: Morrow Fieldhouse
RADIO: WFSE 88.9 FM
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/sru/mbball


Edinboro Game Notes , Slippery Rock Preview
Edinboro Season Stats, Slippery Rock Season Stats
 
SERIES RECORD
Edinboro Leads 86-78

LAST MEETING
January 11, 2014 – Slippery Rock 64, Edinboro 54
Edinboro cut the Slippery Rock lead to 55-54 after facing a 14-point deficit in the second half, but the Scots were held scoreless in the final 3:04 of the contest and dropped a 64-54 to the visiting Rock at McComb Fieldhouse. Trailing 55-48 with 5:06 to play in the game, the Fighting Scots went on a 6-0 run capped off by two Bryan Theriot free thows to shrink the Slippery Rock advantage to 55-54 with just over three minutes to play. After four straight Rock points, Edinboro had several chances to cut into the Slippery Rock lead, but surrendered costly turnovers on back-to-back possessions. The Rock scored the next five points to seal the 64-54 victory. Slippery Rock tallied the final nine points of the game in a contest in which it never trailed. Jonny Marsh paced the Fighting Scots with 14 points. Theriot added 12 markers and eight rebounds, while Henri Wade-Chatman had 11 points and eight boards. Xavier Churnac dropped in eight points and pulled down six rebounds off the bench. Kelvin Dixon led all scorers with 23 points for Slippery Rock on 8 of 12 shooting, followed by Maurice Lewis-Briggs with 14 points. Tabari Perry stuffed the box score for SRU, posting game-highs of 15 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks to go along with nine points. Perry's 15 boards are the most this season by an opposing player for the Fighting Scots. Edinboro shot a season-low 33.3 percent (20 of 60) from the field, while Slippery Rock connected on 22 of 55 (40.0 percent) field goals on the afternoon. The 54 total points is tied for a season-low for the Scots. The Rock, who came in as the second-best rebounding team in the PSAC, outdueled the Scots on the boards by a margin of 42-35.
 
LAST GAME'S STARTERS
 

Edinboro	Slippery Rock
#2 Henri Wade-Chatman (G, 6-2, So.)	#1 Josh Martin (G, 6-2, Sr.)
#3 Will Marrow (G, 6-4, R-So.)	#2 Maurice Lewis-Briggs (C, 6-8, Sr.)
#5 Alex Moore  (F, 6-4, Sr.)	#12 Sa'Quan Davis (G, 5-9, R-Sr.)
#15 Jonny Marsh (G, 6-0, Jr.)	#24 Tabari Perry (F, 6-8, R-Sr.)
#55 Bryan Theriot (C, 6-9, Sr)	#40 Kelvin Dixon (F, 6-6, Jr.)

HEAD COACHES
Edinboro: Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99)
Record at Edinboro: 9-14, 1st year
Career Record: 9-14, 1st year

Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99) is in his first year as head coach of the Fighting Scots, taking over for his predecessor Greg Walcavich, who spent 24 years at the helm of the Edinboro program. Cleary previously worked as an assistant under Walcavich for 16 years, first as a student aide before becoming a full-time assistant coach. He is credited for recruiting many of Edinboro's top contributors in recent years. The first-year head coach takes over a team that finished 18-10 a year ago and reached the PSAC Tournament Semifinals. Cleary has led the Fighting Scots to a 9-14 record this season.

Slippery Rock: Kevin Reynolds
Record at Slippery Rock: 114-58, (6th year)
Career Record: 114-58, (6th year)

Kevin Reynolds is in his sixth year as The Rock's head coach, showing a record of 114-58 during that time. Reynolds led the Rock to a 23-9 record last season and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He is also a former assistant coach at Edinboro under Greg Walcavich. In 2008, Reynolds inherited a program that had not produced a winning season since the 1999-00 season. He guided The Rock to a 21-8 record in his first season and a PSAC semifinal berth. For his efforts, Reynolds was named the 2008-09 Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference-Western Division Coach of the Year. Reynolds assumed the reigns of the Rock program after serving as an assistant coach at Morehead State, the Univ. of Denver, Penn State, Drake, Edinboro, and IUP.
 
Pat Cleary's Record vs. Slippery Rock: 0-1
Kevin Reynold's Record vs. Edinboro: 8-3
 
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Edinboro
#55 Bryan Theriot (C, 6-9, Sr.) earned first team All-PSAC West accolades a year ago after averaging 18.1 ppg. and 8.9 rpg. Was named a preseason All-PSAC choice. Shot 55.4 percent from the floor and 87.2 percent at the line. He was named the PSAC West Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week ending January 12, after averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in two contests.  He leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per contest, also ranks fifth in scoring average in the PSAC. He is fourth in the league in rebounding average at 8.1 boards per game, and second in the conference in field goal percentage at 59.2 percent (141 of 238). The senior ranks 12th in school history with 1,308 career points and 13th with 653 career rebounds. Theriot now holds the career record for free throws made with 384. He also sits at third all-time in career field goal percentage, shooting 58.9 percent from the field for his career (461 of 783). Theriot is now tied for 11th in school history in free throws made in a season with 119.
 
#2 Henri Wade-Chatman (G, 6-2, So.) is a first-year player for the Fighting Scots after transferring from Community College of Allegheny County. He had a team-high 22 points vs. Mercyhurst in the teams' first meeting on 9 of 14 shooting. Wade-Chatman is averaging 14.2 ppg.in the Scots' last ten contests and is the team's third-leading scorer at 12.7 points per game. Known as "Booka" to his teammates, Wade-Chatman is also team leader in steals with 2`. He dished out a game-high eight assists with no turnovers vs. Clarion, while ranking fifth in the PSAC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.9 (79/40), and eighth in the league in assists per game at 3.4. He scored 17 points in the win over California, including a game-winning jumper with 3.1 seconds remaining. He has recorded 36 assists with just 13 turnovers in the last nine games.  

Slippery Rock
#2 Maurice Lewis-Briggs (C, 6-8, Sr.) Lewis-Briggs is Slippery Rock's leading scorer and ranks seventh in the PSAC averaging 17.1 points per game. He is also eighth in the conference shooting 50.6 percent from the field. The Morehead State transfer is second on the team and 11th in the conference at 7.4 rebounds per game. The senior scored a season-high 32 points on 11 of 13 shooting in a win at Cheyney on December 21st. Lewis-Briggs is a former teammate of Fighting Scot forward Johnathan Logan at CCBC.
 
#24 Tabari Perry (F, 6-8, R-Sr.) Perry comes in as Slippery Rock's leading rebounder and ranks seventh in the conference at 7.8 rebounds per contest.  Perry is also the Rock's second-leading scorer at 11.1 points a game. The redshirt senior posted a double-double with 12 points and a season-high 16 rebounds against California (Pa.) . Perry pulled down 15 rebounds against Edinboro earlier this season, the highest total for an opposing player against the Scots this season.
 
THE GAME STORIES
• Edinboro enters the Slippery Rock game following a 62-60 loss at the buzzer to visiting Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon to fall to 2-11 in PSAC West play and 9-14 overall.  With the loss the Fighting Scots are officially eliminated from the PSAC playoffs. Five of six spots in both the East and West Divisions have been solidified, with one remaining spot in each division.
 
• The Fighting Scots have become very familiar with close games this season. Edinboro has dropped two games at the buzzer and also two contests in overtime, while playing in ten games decided by seven points or less. Unfortunately for the Scots, they are now 2-8 in those contests.
 
• Slippery Rock, coached by former Edinboro assistant coach Kevin Reynolds, comes in with an 8-5 mark in PSAC West play and a 17-8 record on the season, good for fourth place in the Western Division standings. The Rock is also coming off a close loss to Mercyhurst, 56-52 last Wednesday before having a week off to prepare for the Scots. The Rock has lost four of its last six games, after previously winning five contests in a row.
 
•The Rock is a very strong rebounding team, while also featuring a suffocating defense. Slippery Rock ranks third in Division II in field goal percentage defense, forcing opponents to shoot an average of 37.7 percent from the field. The Rock ranks ninth in the country in scoring defense, as well, limiting opponents to 64.1 points per game. They sit fourth in the conference in this statistic, trailing Indiana (Pa.), Gannon, and Mercyhurst, who are all in the top five in the nation in scoring defense. Slippery Rock sits fourth in Division II and paces the PSAC with a rebounding margin of +10.4 boards per game. The Rock has outrebounded opponents in all but five games this season.
 
•The Fighting Scots continue a difficult stretch of games against four of the top scoring defenses in the country. Edinboro faced Gannon and Meryhurst, who ranked third and fifth in Division II, respectively. Slippery Rock is ninth in the nation in this statistic, while Indiana (Pa.), Saturday's opponent, paces the PSAC and ranks second in Division II at 58.4 points per game.
 
• Bryan Theriot is now tied for 11th in school history in free throws made in a season with 119. He tied Gil Cummings, who achieved the mark during the 2008-09 campaign. The 6'9'' center continues to climb the ranks of several career records, after setting the record for most career free throws made with 384.
 
• With the loss to Mercyhurst, the Lakers swept the season series against Edinboro for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign. The Fighting Scots won all three contests against Mercyhurst last season. Gannon swept the season series against Edinboro for the first time since 2008-09, the Golden Knights' first season in the PSAC.

NEXT FOR THE FIGHTING SCOTS
Saturday, February 22 at #12 Indiana (PA.) - 8:00 p.m.