SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Daemen College men's basketball team saw their struggles continue against opponents from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference as the Wildcats were stifled in their first road contest of the season tonight, 72-51, versus Slippery Rock University at Morrow Field House.

The loss, Daemen's third-straight, sends the Wildcats to 1-3 overall this season.  It's the first three-game slide for the Wildcats since mid-December of 2013.  All three of the recent losses have come against premier programs in their respective regions.

The Rock, coming off the program's third NCAA Tournament berth last season, improves to 4-3 overall, picking up their third win in the last four outings.  The win also moved SRU to 83-20 in home games dating back to the start of the 2008-09 season.

The Daemen offense, which entered today's contest producing 88 points per game in the Wildcats' first three outings of the year, just never got on track whatsoever tonight.  The Rock, who entered the game ranked fourth in the PSAC in field goal percentage defense, were stalwarts again defensively, limiting Daemen to just 30-percent shooting from the field.  The Wildcats connected on 18-of-16 field goal attempts, including a chilly 4-for-23 (17-percent) from three-point range.  It marked just the third time in the last two seasons that the Wildcats have failed to shoot 40-percent or better on field goals, and it was their chilliest shooting performance since going 23-for-75 (31-percent) in a 68-59 road loss at Holy Family University on November 22, 2014.

Daemen would grab its only lead of the game (4-3) on a layup by Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) at the 17:16 mark of the opening frame, as the freshman guard, fresh off his East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week selection, made the first start of his career tonight.  Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it would be a short-lived lead, lasting for just 33 seconds.  A tip-in by SRU's Chaquille Pratt on the next possession sparked a 12-2 run that would give the hosts a lead that it would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest.  The spurt featured another bucket by Pratt, back-to-back field goals from big man Cornelius Brown, and it was capped by a three-pointer from Malcolm Richardson at the 13:01 mark.

A Nick Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y./Thomasville Prep) jumper at the 9:20 mark would cut the SRU lead to seven (17-10), but Daemen went on to shoot 3-for-13 from the field in the remainder of the opening frame, allowing The Rock to establish a double-figure lead that would grow to as many as 15 points (33-18) in the period.  After a Petrucelli three-pointer at the 6:22 mark, the Wildcats went more than five minutes without a field goal, finally snapping that string with a triple from Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) with 1:05 remaining.  The Rock would take a 12-point lead (35-23) into the halftime intermission.

The Wildcats opened the second half with an old-fashioned three-point play by Ryan Grandits (Kenmore, N.Y./Medaille College) which cut the deficit to nine (35-26).  Getting stops at the defensive end, the Wildcats had four-straight chances to further cut into the SRU edge, but the Wildcats turned the ball over twice and missed a pair of field goals in that span.  

SRU would push back to a 14-point advantage (40-26) on a three-pointer by Jamal Gatali at the 16:42 mark.  Mehmetaj brought Daemen back to a single-digit deficit (42-33) with a layup at the 14:19 mark, but that's as close as the Wildcats would get.  SRU scored the next seven points to go ahead by 49-33 with 13:00 remaining, and they never looked back from there.

The Slippery Rock lead would swell to as many as 23 points late in the game.  It was a jumper by freshman guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) with six seconds remaining that put Daemen over 50 points on the evening, saving them from their first sub-50-point game since a 65-46 loss to Gannon University, ironically another PSAC opponent, back on November 24, 2012.

The loss was Daemen's second to a PSAC opponent this season.  The Wildcats fell, 75-69, to Mercyhurst University, the favorites this season in the PSAC Western Division, last Tuesday, November 24 at Lumsden Gymnasium.  The Wildcats are now just 2-6 against PSAC foes since the 2008-09 season.

Slippery Rock owned a commanding 46-33 edge in the rebound column.  The Rock came into the game as the top rebounding team in the PSAC so far this season.  Controlling the backboard allowed SRU to outscore Daemen 38-22 in the paint.

Richardson paced The Rock with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while adding five boards and five assists.  Brown notched his third-straight double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds), and Pratt doubled up as well with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Mehmetaj was the only Wildcat player to reach double figures with 13 points.  Senior guard/forward Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College), the team's leading scorer coming in, suffered through a 2-for-10 shooting night and totaled eight points, just the fifth time in his two-year Daemen career that he's been held under 10 points.

Petrucelli, Sarkis and Grandits all scored seven points for the Wildcats.  Petrucelli grabbed a team-high five rebounds.

Daemen looks to reverse its fortunes against PSAC opponents when the Wildcats play host to Edinboro University on Saturday, December 12.