Slippery Rock (Pa.) 69, Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 67
Slippery Rock’s Tabari Perry scored on a layup with 2.6 seconds remaining to complete The Rock’s quarterfinal comeback against the No. 2-seeded Rams (21-7).
Winston-Salem State appeared to be on its way to victory after a WyKevin Bazemore basket capped a 14-4 run and gave the Rams a 66-61 lead as the clock ticked under 4 minutes to play.
That proved to be the final basket of the day for the Rams, however, and The Rock began chipping away.
Three free throws by Devin Taylor and another charity toss from Sa’Quan Davis pulled Slippery Rock within a point, 66-65, as the game entered the final minute. The Rock got the ball back after another defensive stop and Taylor, a 6-6 senior, tipped in a missed shot for a 67-66 Slippery Rock lead with 32 seconds to play.
Winston-Salem’s Justin Glover was fouled with 11 seconds to go but made just 1-of-2 free throws to tie the score at 67-67. Davis, the SRU point guard, hustled the ball into the offensive end and drew the defense to him with an aggressive move into the paint, before sliding a pass across the lane to Perry for the uncontested game-winner.
Taylor, a 6-6 senior, had a huge game for the winners with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Perry and Gerald Brooks added a dozen points each while Davis chipped in with 11 points.
Joe Thompson came off the bench to lead WSSU with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Glover and Michel-Ofik Nzege finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament
(at West Liberty, W.Va.)
Saturday, March 16
Regional Quarterfinals
Afternoon Session
Indiana, Pa. 76, East Stroudsburg 68
Slippery Rock 69, Winston-Salem State 67
Evening Session
No. 1 WEST LIBERTY (30-1) vs. No. 8 Bowie State, Md. (16-13), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Fairmont State (22-8) vs. No. 5 Livingstone, N.C. (22-6), 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 17
Regional Semifinals
No. 3 Indiana, Pa. (25-5) vs. No. 7 Slippery Rock (23-8), 5 p.m.
WEST LIBERTY/Bowie State winner vs. Fairmont State/Livingstone winner, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 19
Regional Championship
Sunday’s winners, 7 p.m.
