SLIPPERY ROCK — When Brian Giesler was in the sixth grade, no one could pry him from the basketball court.

He often hung around after school to play with the Slippery Rock junior high girls team.

Giesler seized every opportunity to work on his burgeoning basketball skills.

He spent hours shooting, dribbling and honing his game.

"Brian Giesler is a gym rat," said Slippery Rock High boys basketball coach Phil Bushre.

That gym rat has turned into a scoring beast.

Now a junior forward for the Rockets, Giesler is fourth in the county at 20.5 points per game.

Earlier in the season, he had a 44-point outburst against Brashear — the second highest single-game total in school history.

Giesler said all that work he did as a sixth-grader is paying off now.

"I've always liked being in the gym," Giesler said. "I always looked for ways to get more playing time."

Giesler has developed a deadly outside shot, and at 6-foot-3, he can also post up and drive to the basket with quickness and ferocity.

The triple-threat has made Giesler a nightmare for Slippery Rock opponents.

"He creates a match-up problem, even more this year because he has developed the ability to go to the hoop," Bushre said. "I think he is the best shooter in the county, if not in Western Pennyslvania."

Giesler gets his points despite very few shot attempts.

Giesler is shooting close to 60 percent from the field this season even though he has made 35 3-pointers this season.

"He's not shooting 11-of-33 and scoring more than 20 points," Bushre said. "He's very efficient. In the game he had 44 points, he probably had eight 15-foot bank shots. He's just a pure shooter."

Giesler has shot so well and scored that many points this season with the opponent's best defender on him in every game.

Giesler also has a knack for finding the open teammate. His presence has helped Ryan Gordon and Alec McDeavitt score in bunches as well this season.

"I look at it as if the best defender is on me, that leaves Ryan and Alec and the other guys with opportunities," Giesler said. "When Ryan and Alec are both playing well, it looks good in the box score and also from a team chemistry standpoint."

Unfortunately for Slippery Rock, Gielser's big season hasn't translated into wins for the Rockets, who have lost several games by a handful of points.

Slippery Rock (4-10, 2-7) still has an outside shot at the playoffs.

"It's definitely tough when your team is losing," Giesler said.

The only thing that has slowed Giesler this season has been his health.

Midway through the season, he turned his ankle at the end of a practice and missed a key game against Oil City.

Even now, Gielser said his ankle is at only 90 percent.

His scoring fell off a bit after his injury, but he has turned it on again in the last two weeks as the Rockets try desperately to make a run at the postseason.

Giesler scored 14 of his 28 points in the third quarter to help Slippery Rock overcome a big deficit against Meadville two weeks ago.

A buzzer beater, though, allowed Meadville to edge the Rockets.

"(Against Meadville), he's hitting pull-up jump shots off one dribble, which is very hard to do at any level," Bushre said. "He's just phenomenal. Every team wants to stop Brian Giesler, but no one has proven they can."

Giesler, who also is an exceptional golfer, has rubbed off on his teammates.

Bushre said Giesler's penchant for putting in extra hours at practice has been contagious.

"He definitely leads by example," Bushre said. "He's a coach's dream because he is self motivated and because of his work ethic. Hopefully, he'llcontinue to impress during his senior year and make some college team very good in the future.

"I think people really appreciate what he can do."