SRU men’s basketball came within inches of advancing but fell to Indiana University (Pa.) 69-67 in their first-round Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament game Monday evening at Morrow Field House.
The game culminated in a last-second heave from deep beyond the three-point arc that would have sent the White and Green into the second round, but it was not a high percentage shot. As such, it deflected off the backboard to the edge of the rim, back to the backboard, then harmlessly to the ground.
It is a testament to SRU’s resilience that the final moments could have swung the game. Just over nine minutes prior, they were down 14 and at their lowest point across either half.
After mounting an initial comeback, The Rock found themselves back down by seven with 2:04 remaining, but after an Ike Herster free throw and a Maceo Austin layup, the final two minutes were heavily contested.
A Jomo Goings two-pointer inside of five seconds left to play gave the White and Green their shot. IUP’s Sarp Furtun made one of two free throws after he was fouled to save time. There were three seconds on the clock at the time of The Rock’s last breath effort.
It was the Crimson Hawks’ resilience, though, that marked Slippery Rock’s undoing. SRU jumped out to an 18-5 lead just over six minutes into the game, but Indiana clawed back to within four points by half.
While The Rock scored more points in the second half than the first, IUP nearly doubled their first half output with 44-points in the latter 20 minutes to clip the higher-seeded home team.
Despite the loss, Austin put up an impressive effort in his farewell game, notching 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Bobby Clifford, also playing his final minutes with The Rock, added two rebounds across 14 minutes to his career that saw him rank within the top 10 in minutes and games played in SRU history, as well as 20th in three-pointers made.
Goings and Day Waters co-lead the team with 20 points. Waters’ three triples also led the White and Green.
Herster was the fourth Rock athlete to tally double-digit points. He finished with 10, and his five rebounds were tied with Michael Moore for second on the team.
