GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team guaranteed itself at least one home playoff game after posting a 71-67 victory at Seton Hill University Saturday in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action.
 
The Rock improved to 16-7 overall and 13-3 in PSAC games with their sixth consecutive win in the series against Seton Hill. The victory also guarantees that SRU can finish no lower than fourth in the PSAC West, which means at least one tournament game will be played at Morrow Field House. The Griffins dropped to 7-15 overall and 5-11 in PSAC games with the loss.
 
After putting up its worst shooting performance in more than nine years in Wednesday's loss at No. 6 Indiana (Pa.), Slippery Rock came out of the gates on fire Saturday. The Rock hit their first six 3-pointers and jumped out to a 31-15 lead midway through the opening period before cooling off and letting the hosts rush back into the game.
 
Seton Hill used a 12-0 run in the middle of a longer 21-4 stretch to flip the momentum of the game and take a late lead in the period, but Jared Armstrong hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer with one second left to give SRU a 38-36 lead at the half.
 
Slippery Rock would never relinquish that lead thanks to a dominant defensive showing in the second half. The Rock held Seton Hill to just eight made field goals and a 30 percent shooting efficiency over the final 20 minutes. The Griffins made 15 trips to the free throw line during that stretch and hit 11 of those to claw back to within one point with 46 seconds left, but Julius Palmer made a jumper with 17 seconds to play and Seton Hill missed on an open look at the tying 3-pointer on what would be its final possession.
 
Slippery Rock played without the services of the leading scorer and rebounder in the PSAC West, as All-American Micah Till was injured last week and did not dress Saturday. With Till out of the game, SRU leaned on the forward duo of Vinny Lasley and Palmer to shoulder the load down low. Lasley put together a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds and Palmer scored 10 points, including the crucial late bucket, and grabbed five boards in a season-high 24 minutes.
 
Armstrong led all scorers in the game with 20 points, including a 3-of-5 effort from beyond the 3-point line. John Warren II added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists and Nolen Gerald scored nine points.
 
Slippery Rock shot 46.7 percent from the field (28-of-60), 41.2 percent from 3-point (7-of-17) and 61.5 percent from the free throw line (8-of-13), a stark improvement from shooting 25.9 percent earlier this week at IUP.
 
Seton Hill shot 38.9 percent from the field (21-of-54), 38.9 percent from 3-point (7-of-18) and 78.3 percent from the free throw line (18-of-23). Nathan Davis scored 18 points and Trevor Blondin added 13 points for the Griffins.
 
Slippery Rock will now turn its focus to a streaking Mercyhurst team, which has won eight games in a row and is just one and a half games behind SRU for the second spot in the PSAC West standings. The Lakers will visit Morrow Field House Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. tip in the annual "White Out" game at The Rock.
 
 
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