SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock stood tall — and Moniteau couldn’t match it.

The Rockets used a big size advantage inside in running away from the Warriors, 58-37, in boys basketball action Saturday night.

“They had the height on us, that’s for sure,” Moniteau coach Jerry Day said. “Ryan Dutton is one of the best players in the county and we wanted to take him away as best we could,

“We did that ... But they have too many others.”

Slippery Rock (4-8), including the 6-foot-5 Dutton, had four players at 6-2 or taller who saw regular minutes Saturday against a smaller Moniteau lineup. The size differential took its toll.

The Rockets had a 35-22 edge in rebounding. They attempted 26 free throws to the Warriors’ four.

“We were able to dominate inside,” Slippery Rock coach Randy Armagost said. “We missed a bunch of layups, but we altered their shots and controlled the boards.

“I liked the way we closed out the game.”

The Rockets led by only two (18-16) after the first quarter, but began the second period with a 9-0 run to build a 27-16 lead. Still, Slippery Rock had trouble shaking off the visitors.

When Jacob Jewart sank a baseline jumper and Josh Adamson stuck back an offensive rebound, Moniteau (6-7) trailed only 39-32 with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

“We were able to keep it close,” Day said. “Then we stopped making shots.”

Moniteau missed its first seven field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and hit just two of 12 shots in the final eight minutes. The Rockets closed the game on a 19-5 run and scored the final eight points of the contest.

“I think we wore them down a little bit,” Armagost said.

While Dutton was held to nine points and seven rebounds, three other Rockets found double figures. Nick Wherthey had 12 points, six assists and three steals, Hunter Prementine came off the bench to score 12 points and Rod Williams contributed 10 points and eight boards.

Lake Pry was the only Warrior to reach double digits, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. Jewart had eight points and Adamson had four assists.

Day was not discouraged by his team’s defeat.

“We’re 3-2 in our division of the KSAC,” he said. “We lost to Keystone and Karns City, but we play both of them again on our floor. I like the position we’re in. We’re definitely thinking playoffs.”

Slippery Rock won only one game a year ago.

“We are 500 percent better than we were last year,” Armagost said. “I like the way we’re playing right now and how things are coming together. I think we can make a run.”

MONITEAU 37

Lake Pry 6-13 0-0 13, Ethan McDeavitt 2-7 0-0 6, Josh Adamson 2-4 2-2 6, Jared Lominski 2-3 0-0 4, Ross Tenney 0-2 0-0 0, Jamal Kimani 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler McFadden 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Jewart 3-12 1-2 8. Totals: 15-42 3-4 37.

SLIPPERY ROCK 58

Hunter Prementine 4-6 2-2 12, Nick Stutz 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Brandon 2-9 2-2 6, Ryan Dutton 3-7 3-8 9, Nick Wherthey 4-10 3-5 12, Rod Williams 3-4 4-5 10, Jeff Bennett 1-2 0-0 3, Logan Croll 1-2 0-0 3, Justin Heitzenrater 0-0 1-2 1, Cabot Fowler 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 18-41 17-26 58.

Moniteau 16 7 9 5 — 37

Slippery Rock18 14 11 15 — 58

3-point goals: Pry, MNcDeavitt 2, Jewart; Prementine 2, Wherthey, Bennett, Croll

JV: Slippery Rock, 44-27 (M: Ross Tenney 9, SR: Logan Croll 12)

Tuesday: North Clarion at Moniteau, Slippery Rock at Franklin