SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Eighth-ranked Slippery Rock (12-0) pulled away in the second half for a 51-30 win over #25 Shepherd (10-3) in second round  NCAA II Championship football action at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium on Saturday.

Slippery Rock took a 6-0 lead when Roland Rivers III teamed with Jermaine  Wynn Jr. on an eight-yard scoring pass with 11:02 left in the first quarter. Andrew Chapla's point after attempt was no good.

Rivers found Reggie Mays in the back of the end zone for a 27-yard scoring pass with 6:52 left in the first quarter to give The Rock a 13-0 lead.

Slippery Rock took a 20-0 lead when Rivers scored on a three-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Tyson Bagent (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) fired a 21-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver Devin Phelps (Baltimore, Md./St. Frances) with 1:16 left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 20-6. Junior kicker Hayden August-Scriven (North Potomac, Md./Quince Orchard) was unsuccessful on the extra point.

Chapla connected on a 25-yard field goal with 4:51 left in the half to up the lead to 23-6.

August-Scriven booted a 29-yard field goal with 2:14 left in the half to make it a 23-9 at the break.

Bagent and Phelps teamed on a 21-yard scoring strike on the opening drive of the second half to cut the lead to 23-16.

Bagent fired a 38-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Rodney Dorsey (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora)  with 4:13 left in the third quarter as the Rams tied the game at 23-all.

Rivers teamed with Wynn on a 43-yard scoring pass with 2:29 left in the third quarter to give The Rock a 30-23 advantage.

Rivers and Charles Snorweah combined on a 25-yards touchdown with 14:0 left in the fourth quarter to give Slippery Rock a 37-23 lead.

Bagent tossed a 67-yard scoring strike to Phelps with 13:03 remaining to cut the lead to 37-30.

Snorweah dashed 38 yards for a score with 9:34 left to give Slippery Rock a 44-30 lead.

Snorweah added a 36-yard scoring run to seal the win for The Rock.

Bagent completed 30-of-42 passes for 413 yards and four scores. Rivers was 31-of-47 for 416 yards and four touchdowns for The Rock

Glover rushed 13 times for 136 yards on the day. Snorweah rushed 21 times for 162 yards to lead The Rock.

Phelps had four catches for 143 yards and Dorsey added 10 grabs for 129 yards to lead the Rams. Wynn had 18 catches for 229 yards to lead Slippery Rock.

Shepherd amassed 528 yards of total offense, while Slippery Rock totaled 652.

Junior linebacker Chrys Lane (Baltimore, Md./Dundalk) led the Shepherd defense with a game-high 11 stops (six solos).  Junior defensive lineman Ricky Robinson (Matthias, W.Va./East Hardy) added nine tackles with six solo stops.  Khadir Roberts and Brad Zaffram each recorded eight tackles for Slippery Rock.

Slippery Rock advances to face Notre Dame College next Saturday.

Notes: Glover ran for 100 yards or more for the seventh time this season … Dylan Brewer had six catches on the day and had 99 on the year to tie the single season mark set by Billy Brown in 2016 … Bagent threw for 300 yards or more for the 10th time this season … Bagent set a single season mark fro completion percentage with a (343-483) 71.01 mark, surpassing the old mark of Dan Chlebowski (144-206, 69.9) in 2006 … the Rams fall to 15-16 in postseason play with a 14-12 mark in NCAA II Football Championship play … Brewer (1,234) and Phelps (1,104) both went over 1,000 receiving yards on the season …  this is the first time two Ram receivers have accomplished this since Billy Brown (1,580) and C.J Davis (1,235) did it in 2016.