ERIE, Pa. -- Lorenzo Collier scored 23 points, leading a quintet of Mercyhurst scorers in double-figures, as the Mercyhurst men's basketball team defeated Slippery Rock, 88-73, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament first-round contest on Monday at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

Durrell McDonald and Malcolm Walters added 13 points each while John Majors scored 12 and H'ian Hale put in 10. Hale also had three steals while leading rebounder Stephen Spurlock totaled seven boards for Mercyhurst (12-11).

Naquil Jones had 19 points to lead SRU (10-13) while Jordan Marrow and George Chase put in 17 and 16, respectively.

The Lakers opened the game on an 11-1 run, getting seven points from Hale during that stretch. The Rock then battled back, taking a short-lived lead before Mercyhurst went into halftime up, 34-32. During the second half, Mercyhurst used a 17-4 run to push its lead into double-digits for good.

The Lakers edged Slippery Rock on the glass, 36-35, and shot 28 of 51 from the field (54.9 percent) and 6 of 14 from three-point land (42.9).

Mercyhurst will return to action on Wednesday with a 7:30 pm. PSAC Tournament quarterfinal at Indiana (Pa.).