SLIPPERY ROCK, PA. – Senior Devin Taylor recorded his team-high 11th “double-double” of the season Saturday afternoon to lead hosting Slippery Rock University to an 87-66 win over Clarion University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division men's basketball action in Morrow Field House.

The win in the final game on the regular-season schedule assured The Rock (17-9 overall, 14-8 PSAC) of their second consecutive trip to the conference's postseason tournament and the third in Kevin Reynolds' four seasons as head coach.

The Rock, who finished the regular season tied with California, Pa. (17-11, 14-8 PSAC) for third place in the PSAC-West standings, earned the division's third seed in the PSAC tournament by virtue of their 2-0 record against in California in head-to-head meetings this winter.

SRU will travel to Mercyhurst University (17-9, 15-7 PSAC) in Erie for a first-round game Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Rock beat Mercyhurst, 51-45, in quarterfinal action last year on the Lakers' home court.

Taylor recorded game-high totals of 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead a balanced Rock scoring attack that featured four players who finished Saturday's game with double-digit scoring totals.

Seniors Torrance Timothy and Tommy Kelly added 15 and 14 points, respectively, in substitute roles for The Rock while junior starter Aubin Reeves added 11 points and seven assists.

Senior Jon Valeriano chipped in nine points for SRU, junior Luiz Santos had seven points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots and junior Tabari Perry had seven points and eight rebounds.

Paul McQueen finished with team-high totals of 17 points and six rebounds for Clarion (15-13, 11-1 PSAC), Winfield Willis added 11 points and Calvin Edwards scored 10 points.

Indicative of The Rock's control of the action were the facts the hosts outscored Clarion by a 36-6 margin “in the paint,” by a 35-18 margin “off the bench” and held a 48-30 rebounding advantage.

The Rock made 48% (31-64) of their field-goal attempts, buried 11 of 26 (42%) shots from 3-point range and sank 14 of 20 (70%) free throws.

Clarion shot 36% (21-58) from the field, hit seven of 16 (44%) long-range shots and canned 17 of 26 (65%) free throws.

Both teams took good care of the basketball as The Rock committed 10 turnovers and Clarion turned the ball over nine times.

Clarion scored the first three points of the game and held the lead for the first seven minutes before SRU took its first lead, 15-13, on a 3-point shot by Timothy with 12:30 left to play in the first half.

Three ties and three lead changes later, The Rock took the lead for good, 22-20, when Santos scored on a layup with eight minutes left before halftime. That basket started an 11-0 Rock run that gave SRU a double-digit lead it would never relinquish.

SRU held a 19-point, 43-24, lead with two minutes left before halftime before settling for a 12-point, 44-32, advantage at the intermission.

The Rock extended their lead to 23 points, 64-41, with 12 minutes left to play in the game and held their largest lead with 45 seconds remaining, when they held a 25-point, 87-62, advantage.

Playoff scenario

Mercyhurst beat last-place Lock Haven (0-25, 0-22 PSAC) by a 73-66 score to lock up second place in the division standings and earn the right to host Tuesday's quarterfinal game vs. The Rock. California won a 68-64 decision at Edinboro to finish the season deadlocked with SRU for third place and will travel to division champion Indiana, Pa. (21-4, 18-3 PSAC) for a quarterfinal game Tuesday.

Kutztown (18-8, 15-7 PSAC) and Bloomsburg (19-8, 15-7 PSAC) tied for the PSAC-East championship and will host East Stroudsburg (17-11, 13-9 PSAC) and West Chester (17-9, 14-8 PSAC), respectively, in quarterfinal action Tuesday.

Kutztown earned the division's No. 1 seed by virtue of its 2-0 head-to-head record vs. Bloomsburg this winter and, with a win Tuesday, would host the semifinal- and final-round games next weekend. If East Stroudsburg upsets Kutztown in their quarterfinal game, the winner of the Bloomsburg-West Chester game would host the final two rounds of the tournament.

The SRU-Mercyhurst winner will play the Kutztown-ESU winner in one semifinal game Friday, while the Bloomsburg-West Chester winner takes on the Indiana-California winner in the other semifinal. The championship game is set for next Saturday, March 3.

Indiana is the defending champion after beating The Rock 82-75 in the title game.

SRU compiled a 4-6 record this winter against the teams in this year's PSAC tournament. The Rock were 2-0 vs. California, 1-0 vs. Kutztown, 0-1 against Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg and West Chester and 0-2 vs. Indiana.

Notes

Saturday's win assured SRU of its first back-to-back appearance in the PSAC tournament since 1991, when a Bob Barlett-led Rock squad made its fourth consecutive trip to the conference tournament … The Rock is 13-14 all-time in PSAC playoff games … Saturday's point total was SRU's highest of the season against an NCAA Division II rival and its third-best output of the season. The Rock scored 113 points Dec. 30 against Ohio University's Eastern regional campus squad and 102 points in the Nov. 11 season-opening win over Division III Westminster College. All three of the offensive outbursts came in Morrow Field House … The Rock won 11 of 15 home games this winter to improve their record in Morrow Field House to 43-13 (.768)  under Reynolds' guidance … Saturday's win gave Reynolds a 74-40 (.649) record as The Rock's head coach … Saturday's game marked the home finale for five Rock seniors: John Bossle, Kelly, Taylor, Timothy and Valeriano. Kelly was the only fourth-year player in the group. The other four seniors all came to SRU as transfers from other colleges or universities.