ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst men's basketball team suffered a 49-46 loss to Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action on Tuesday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

Lorenzo Collier was the Lakers' leading scorer, finishing with 14 points, while Durrell McDonald put in 13.

SRU's Naquil Jones led all scorers with 21 points and eight rebounds. Khyree Wooten added 10 points.

Mercyhurst scored the game's first five points, but the visiting Rock (9-4, 5-2) responded with an 18-2 run, including 11 points from Jones, to jump out to an 18-7 first-half lead. The Lakers (5-6, 3-4) eventually closed their deficit to 24-22 at halftime.

Mercyhurst carried its momentum into the second half, building a 36-32 lead with 9:08 to go, but an eight-point streak by Slippery Rock gave it the lead for good.

Neither team was impressive on offense. The Lakers struggled, going 13 of 45 from the field (28.9 percent) and 2 of 14 from three-point land (14.3), although Mercyhurst was 18 of 22 from the free-throw line (81.8).

The Rock was 15 of 49 from the field (32.7) and 5 of 16 beyond the arc (31.3). Jones led the three-point shooters with a 4-for-8 performance. The visitors also won the rebound battle, 42-30.

Mercyhurst will return to action on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. PSAC game at Clarion.