SLIPPERY ROCK — Myron Brown was all smiles Saturday at Morrow Field House.

Slippery Rock University retired the uniform of its men's basketball all-time leading scorer at halftime of SRU's 69-64 win over Bloomsburg.

Rock coach Kevin Reynolds was all smiles, too. His defense won him a basketball game.

"The game looked sloppy because there was no rhythm to it and nobody was making free throws," Reynolds said. "We needed some stops at the end and we got them."

SRU (2-0) led by eight points at halftime and upped that margin to 12 when Maron Brown and Jabril Bailey netted layups in the first minute of the second half.

The Rock took more 3-point shots — going 10 for 35 from beyond the arc — than 2-point attempts, however, and Bloomsburg (0-2) fought itself back into the game.

"We became a much better basketball team in the second half today," Bloomsburg coach John Sanow said. "Coming back like that on the road against a team like that will do a lot for us."

The Huskies used an 11-0 run to turn a 53-43 deficit at the 12:23 mark of the second half into a 54-53 lead with 9:08 remaining. Bloomsburg had never led until that point.

Cecil Brown nailed a 3-pointer for SRU moments later and Slippery Rock never trailed again. But The Rock never pulled away again, either.

"We lost Andre Tarver and Mike Evans to fouls. That's our starting backcourt," Reynolds said. "That turned the game into a bit of a scramble.

"Maurice Douglas had nine assists and no turnovers, and Cecil Brown gave us a big boost down the stretch. We're showing we have depth at the position."

Point guard Tarver followed his fourth personal foul with a technical foul, which fouled him out with 14:45 to play. Evans fouled out with 2:46 on the clock.

Evans' fifth foul placed Bloomsburg's Ed Hall at the foul line with the Huskies trailing 63-62. He missed both free throws.

Brown stuck back an offensive rebound and laid a shot in off an assist from Bailey to give The Rock a 67-62 edge. A shot-clock violation and two consecutive turnovers ended any hopes of a last-minute rally for the Huskies.

"Our effort put us in position to win at the end," Sanow said. "We didn't make the plays we needed to get the win."

Hall made a pair of free throws to pull Bloomsburg within three with 10 seconds left, but Douglas iced the win with two free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining.

The teams combined to sink just 24 of 48 free throws. The Rock hit 11 of 23.

"We were one of the best foul shooting teams in the country last year," Reynolds said. "I'm not concerned. We practice hard on them every day. It was one of those games.

"There were 43 fouls called today. That's more than one a minute. When there's that many whistles, you can't get into any kind of flow."

Myron Brown graduated from The Rock with 2,619 career points. He owns eight of the school's individual career records and six single-season marks.

His uniform — not his No. 34 — was retired at halftime. No current SRU player wears No. 34, however.

SRU was 78-39 during Brown's four years with the program.

"I'm honored by the university bringing me back," Brown said."I'm very humbled and appreciative of all this.

"We used to pack this place every night. I'd love to see it get back to that. I think the program's headed that way."

BLOOMSBURG 64Earl Knight 1-1 0-0 2, Larry Webster 7-123 2-6 16, Trevon Johnson 3-11 0-0 6, Ruben Britt 4-10 2-2 11, Greg Elliott 1-7 2-4 4, Jamar Smack 0-0 0-0 0, Jesse Betar 1-6 3-4 5, Jordan Wartman 0-0 0-0 0, Ed Hall 4-9 3-5 11, Trenton Epps 4-5 1-4 9. Totals 25-62 13-25 64SLIPPERY ROCK 69Maron Brown 4-11 0-2 11, Jabril Bailey 6-17 2-3 17, Mike Evans Jr. 3-10 0-0 7, Maurice Douglas 1-9 4-6 7, Andre Tarver 4-6 1-2 10, Gary Satterwhite 0-0 0-0 0, Cecil Brown 4-9 2-6 13, Bryen Spriggs 0-2 2-2 2, Tommy Kelly 0-1 0-2 0, Jade Burka 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 24-66 11-23 69

Halftime score: SRU 37, Bloomsburg 29

3-point goals: Britt; M. Brown, Bailey 3, Evans Jr., Douglas, Tarver, C. Brown 3

Next Monday: Seton Hill at SRU, 8 p.m.