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Feb. 28, 2009
Maurice Douglas hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left and Gerald Brooks could not convert a layup as the clock ran out, giving Slippery Rock a 73-72 victory over IUP and the No. 2 seed in the PSAC West heading into next week's conference tournament. The two teams will meet again in the opening round of the PSAC tournament Tuesday at Morrow Field House, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. It was already determined that IUP would face Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals, with only the home site up for grabs on Saturday. Tickets for the playoff game at Slippery Rock are $7 for adults and $2 for children, with students of both schools admitted free with a valid I-card. There are not complimentary admissions for PSAC postseason events. Thomas Young led IUP (21-6, 10-4 PSAC West) with 18 points, followed by Julian Sanders with 12, Brooks with 11 and Ashton Smith with 10. Maurice Polen had a team-high 10 rebounds, one more than Darryl Webb. Douglas led The Rock (20-7, 11-3) with 23 points. Denell Stephens had 20 points and 17 rebounds and Maron Brown also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Slippery Rock held a 45-33 advantage on the boards, and IUP also hurt its cause by converting only 7 of 15 from the free throw line. IUP overcame an 11-point second half deficit and took a 72-68 lead on a 3-pointer by Webb with 2:00 left and a jumper by Young with 41 seconds left. Kyle Camper made two free throws at the 31-second mark to bring Slippery Rock within two. With 22 seconds left, Young was fouled and missed the front end of the one-and-one. Douglas then hit his game-winning 3-pointer which held up when Brooks was not able to put in the final shot of the game. The first half featured six lead changes and ended on a shot from beyond halfcourt that Young banked in to cut Slippery Rock's margin to 38-37 at intermission. Sanders tied it at 47 with a 3-pointer before The Rock went on a run to seemingly take control of the game. Brown grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in to put Slippery Rock in front 49-47 and trigger a 16-5 run that ended with the hosts up 63-52 with 10:51 remaining in the game. But IUP bounced right back, scoring the next eight points to get right back in the game. A tip-in by Polen tied the game at 65 and a layup by Young gave IUP a 67-65 lead. A free throw by Brown and basket by Douglas put Slippery Rock back ahead 68-67 before Webb's 3-pointer temporarily put the Crimson Hawks ahead. |
