SLIPPERY ROCK - Sean Strickland sat calmly on the bench Tuesday night, watching the latest in a long string of losses unfold before him.

There was little the first-year Slippery Rock High boys basketball coach could do. It was the same story, just a different time and a different opponent.

He watched as his basketball team played Oil City well in the first quarter in the steamy Rock Box, then witnessed his team base jump again without a parachute.

This time, the result was a 70-25 loss.

"I feel for Slippery Rock," said Oil City coach John Davis. "I've been there."

Slippery Rock (1-18, 0-11) held its own through the first eight minutes.

But the second quarter - a bugaboo for the team all season - was troublesome again.

The Rockets were down by only four points, felt a draft, and before they knew it, they were down by 19 after the Oilers' 19-2 gust.

The breeze intensified into a gale in the second half as Slippery Rock was outscored 37-13 in the final two quarters.

"Our biggest room for improvement is taking care of the basketball," Strickland said. "We average 23 turnovers a game, and that's really bad."

It was worse against Oil City as the Rockets had 28 turnovers. They took only 34 shots, mostly because on several possessions - more than Strickland would care to see - his team didn't get off a shot.

Instead, a quick Oil City team pilfered the basketball.

"Our fundamentals are not there," Strickland said. "That's why I'm looking forward to the off-season so we can go to work on stressing all the little things.

"Everyone presses us because they know we don't have a true point guard."

Oil City (17-4, 8-3) was no exception, applying massive amounts of pressure and getting quick turnovers in the process.

The Oilers were just as efficient on offense.

Adam Carll came off the bench to go 8-for-8 from the floor and to score a game-high 17 points. Adam Brozeski, forced into the starting lineup when P.J. McGinty couldn't play because of the flu, added 14 points.

Brett Hines led Slippery Rock with 11 points.

As usual, the Rockets went deep into their bench, using 13 players.

This is by design for a young team short on experience.

"I have a real good outlook for this team because a lot of them play (junior varsity) and varsity," Strickland said. "It's like they are getting two seasons.

"We've started 10 different guys, freshmen on up," Strickland added. "Next year we should have eight returning lettermen, which will pay dividends. It's a marathon, not a sprint. It isn't going to turn around overnight."

OIL CITY 70

Jacob Polley 3-8 0-0 6, Bill Jasiota 4-6 1-2 9, Nick Stallone 4-6 0-0 9, Nate Carll 1-3 2-2 4, Adam Brozeski 6-11 0-0 14, Adam Carll 8-8 0-0 17, Jordan Way 2-3 1-3 5, Drew Reinsel 1-1 0-0 2, Mike Fletcher 2-4 0-0 4. Totals: 31-50 4-7 70

SLIPPERY ROCK 25

Billy Messer 2-7 0-0 4, Brett Hines 4-6 3-4 11, Rhett Gordon 0-0 0-0 0, Joe Bryan 0-2 0-0 0, Josh Hoover 1-8 0-0 2, Zach Ejzak 0-1 0-0 0, Billy Stoughton 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Crocker 0-0 0-0 0, Tim Busi 2-3 0-2 4, John Black 0-1 0-0 0, Dave McCune 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Kelly 0-2 0-0 0, Dave Hewitt 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 11-34 3-5 25

3-point goals:

Stallone, Brozeski 2, A. Carll

JV:

Oil City 58-52

Tonight:

Fort LeBeouf @ Slippery Rock

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