SLIPPERY ROCK — Walking down the corridor to his office in Morrow Field House, Slippery Rock University basketball coach John Marhefka had a simple critique of the game he had just coached.

"It wasn't pretty," the fourth year coach said.

But it doesn't have to be pretty. Pretty will come later. In the here and now, Marhefka and The Rock will take wins, whatever they look like.

SRU got a 54-50 win 54-50 Monday night against West Virginia Wesleyan. It was an important one because it came on the heels of a tough overtime loss Thursday to Ohio Valley.

With Thanksgiving break coming up, the turkey will go down easier with a victory on the ledger.

"Our guys are still going through the process of learning," Marhefka said. "But it's good to get a win going into the break. The guys can come back energized and excited."

Neither team was particularly energized or excited about how they played.

There were long stretches of missed shots and miscues throughout the game and both teams had trouble finding their shooting touch.

The Rock (1-1) shot just 37 percent from the floor. Wesleyan wasn't much better, hitting 42 percent of its shots.

The biggest bugaboo for the Bobcats has been rebounding. Coming into the game, they had been outboarded by 75 through the first three contests of the season.

Wesleyan (0-4) was better against The Rock, losing the rebounding battle by four, but SRU had plenty of second- and third-chance opportunities.

"We don't rebound," said Wesleyan coach Bill Lilly. "That's the issue. We've got to understand good shots and bad shots. Sometimes we did and sometimes we didn't. Sometimes we go blank in a game situation, and that's frustrating. You have to find a way to scrap it out."

Dejan Jancic was big down the stretch for SRU.

The 6-foot-11 senior center from Serbia was 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final three minutes. He finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

"He hit his free throws today," Marhefka said. "That's exactly what we need to see from him."

Jancic scored the final four points for The Rock from the line after Wesleyan closed the gap to 50-48 on a tip-in by Andy Chelcher.

The Bobcats were a different team with Chelcher on the floor. He finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, but picked up his third foul midway through the second half and spent a stretch on the bench.

During that time, SRU erased a five-point deficit.

"These kids have gone through two years in a row with two wins and four wins," Lilly said. "We didn't handle adversity well. We're fighting amongst ourselves. We're questioning the officiating. You have to take these things in small steps and try to get better, and we didn't do that."

Wesleyan had trouble with SRU freshman guard Matt Hale, who led The Rock with 14 points.

The Bobcats started out well, building a 17-11 lead on the strength of a 11-0 run midway through the first half, but The Rock responded with its own 8-0 run to draw even.

Neither team led by more than six points in the contest.

The turnover bug is still biting The Rock.

SRU committed 22, most of them unforced on traveling calls or poor passes.

It's a cause for concern for Marhefka.

"That's what you are going to have with a young team," Marhefka said. "It's always difficult when you are coming from different areas and different places, coming together to try to learn something different."

W.VA. WESLEYAN (50)Dureyea Garnett 4-9 2-2 11, Brian Inge 0-4 0-0 0, Jared Chafin 3-11 0-0 6, Andy Chelcher 6-14 1-1 13, Cole Ellis 4-8 0-0 8, Rocky Manchin 3-7 0-0 7, Jerel Thomas 0-2 0-0 0, Chris Smith 2-5 1-2 5. Totals: 22-60 4-5 50.

SLIPPERY ROCK (54)Brandon Thompson 3-5 1-2 7, Matt Schaefer 2-7 0-0 5, Matt Hale 4-7 4-4 14, Dejan Jancic 2-3 6-8 10, Errol Robinson 1-10 0-2 2, Nathaniel McCoy 0-2 0-0 0, Corey Nesser 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Novick 2-2 0-1 4, Jamar Scales 0-1 0-0 0, Tim Dykgraaf 1-1 0-0 2, Pete Craig 4-7 2-2 10. Totals: 19-45 13-19 54.Halftime — West Virginia Wesleyan 28-25. 3-point goals — WVW 2-15 (Garnett 1-4, Inge 0-1, Chafin 0-5, Eillis 0-2, Manchin 1-2, Thomas 0-1. SRU 3-11 (Schaefer 1-2, Hale 2-4, Jancic 0-1, Robinson, McCoy 0-2, Craig 0-1). Rebounds — WVW 32 (Chelcher 9), SRU 36 (Robinson 7). Assists — WVW 10 (Garnett, Chafin 3), SRU 11 (Schaefer 4). Total fouls — WVW 20, SRU 9.