SLIPPERY ROCK - Three shots. No points.

Those were the first-half numbers for Slippery Rock University senior guard Bill Johnson against Lock Haven Saturday.

"That's Bill's personality," SRU men's basketball coach John Marhefka said. "He's our leading scorer, but he's not there all of the time.

"I've been trying to get him to be more assertive, on and off the court."

Message received.

Johnson took an outlet pass from teammate Glenn Reepmeyer, drove the length of the floor and laid in the winning bucket with 5.2 seconds remaining as The Rock nipped Lock Haven, 69-68, at Morrow Field House.

Johnson scored 13 points in the contest - all in the second half - after scoring 20 or more points in 10 of his team's first 16 games this season.

He is averaging 18.1 points per game this season.

"My teammates talked to me at halftime," Johnson said. "They told me to pick it up. I didn't have to force things, just let the game come to me."

With Lock Haven (2-15, 0-3) leading 68-67, the Bald Eagles' Durell Moore missed the front end of a one-and-one with 13 seconds left.

Reepmeyer rebounded - and put the game in Johnson's hands.

"We had no set play call there," Marhefka said. "We called a set play the possession before and turned the ball over."

Johnson dribbled the ball across mid-court, saw the baseline open and went for it.

"My teammates were comfortable with me taking the last shot and I wanted to take it," he said. "I wasn't looking to dish off. That ball was going in or I was going to the foul line."

The ball went in.

Lock Haven had time to get off a game-winning shot of its own, but never did. Kranthi Senadhi brought the ball up the floor uncontested and tried dishing off to a shooter just outside the 3-point arc.

SRU defender Ryan Yarosik got a hand on the pass and players from both teams scrambled for the ball as time expired.

"Ryan had the guy covered … Game over," Johnson said.

Lock Haven had called timeout to set up the play.

"It was a bad play call by me," Bald Eagles coach John Wilson said. "I blew it at the end. The play had no chance."

The lead changed hands 14 times in the game. Lock Haven took a 37-26 edge into halftime - sinking seven of 11 3-point shots - and expanded the margin to 13 points just seconds into the second half.

But the visitors sank only one of three shots from beyond the arc in the second half.

"They came out and took the three away from us," Wilson said. "And we couldn't handle them inside."

SRU (3-15, 1-2) had 44 points in the paint to Lock Haven's 22. Reepmeyer scored a career-high 26 points to go with 11 rebounds. Brandon Thompson came off the bench to produce 12 points and eight assists. Mason Glick had 12 points and six assists.

And Johnson had the game-winning points.

"I've been waiting two and a half years for him to do something like that," Marhefka said.

Joe Walker had 22 points and Eddie Christiano 17 for Lock Haven.

LOCK HAVEN (68)

Kranthi Senadhi 0-0 0-0 0, Jason DeJesus 0-1 0-0 0, Eddie Christiano 6-11 0-0 17, Joe Walker 10-18 2-2 22, Michael Dye 3-7 0-0 7, Ryan Carson 1-2 1-2 3, Durell Moore 0-0 0-1 0, Quentin Terry 5-10 1-1 11, James Chappell 3-4 0-0 8, Dan Tomcavage 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 28-54 4-6 68

SLIPPERY ROCK (69)

Bill Johnson 4-10 4-4 13, Mason Glick 5-10 0-0 12, Ryan Yarosik 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Bratten 1-4 2-3 4, Glenn Reepmeyer 13-18 0-1 26, Brandon Thompson 5-8 2-2 12, Corey Nesser 0-0 0-0 0, Sean White 0-1 0-2 0, Dejan Jancic 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 29-55 8-12 69

Halftime - Lock Haven, 37-26. 3-point goals - Lock Haven 8-14 (Christiano 5-8, Dye 1-4, Chappell 2-2), SRU 3-8 (Johnson 1-4, Glick 2-3, Bratten 0-1). Rebounds - Lock Haven 23 (Terry 4), SRU 33 (Reepmeyer 11). Assists - Lock Haven 15 (Senadhi 5), SRU 21 (Thompson 8). Total fouls - Lock Haven 11, SRU 14. Fouled out - None; Technical foul - Terry (LH).