Box Score
SLIPPERY ROCK, PA – Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) scored a game-high 21 points as the 11th-ranked IUP men's basketball team easily defeated rival Slippery Rock 69-55 on the road at Morrow Field House on Wednesday night.

The win came against a rowdy Slippery Rock crowd with an announced attendance of 2780.

The Crimson Hawks won their fifth consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular season title with a 13-3 mark. Sharing the title with Gannon, IUP will be seeded second headed into the conference tournament. They also had a 23-3 overall record on the year. Slippery Rock falls to 19-9 overall with a 10-6 record in the division.

Even before the win, IUP had wrapped up the second seed in the upcoming PSAC tournament and will receive a first round bye. The Crimson Hawks will host the quarterfinals against a team yet to be determined on Tuesday, March 4 at the Kovalchick Complex.

Keita was an efficient 10-of-12 from the field, making his only three-point attempt while grabbing seven boards and getting two steals in 35 minutes.

Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C./Greenfield School) had a career-high 17 points, going 5-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) just missed out on a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

Slippery Rock led 5-2 early before an 8-0 run by the Crimson Hawks put together an 8-0 run over nearly seven minutes to go on top 10-5 with 11:37 left in the half. Slippery Rock later cut its deficit to one at 17-16 but IUP reeled off seven straight points to go on top 24-16 after a layup by Jeffers with 5:19 to go in the half.

Another layup a few minutes later by Jeffers put the Crimson Hawks up by 10 with under four minutes to go, later going into the half with a 32-25 advantage.

IUP got its lead back to 10 at 37-27 early in the second half after a layup and one by Souberbielle, but SRU rallied and cut the score to 41-40 just a few minutes later. The game was still in reach for Slippery Rock with 6:39 to go as the Crimson Hawks led 57-48, but an 8-0 run by IUP put the Crimson Hawks on top by 16 as they closed out SRU down the stretch for a 14-point victory.

Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) ended the night with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.

The Crimson Hawks shot 51.9 percent from the field and went 11-of-17 from the free throw line. They outrebounded Slippery Rock 38-30, forcing them to shoot 37.3 percent from the floor.

Earning the bye, IUP is off in the first round and will host a quarterfinal playoff game at the Kovalchick Complex on Tuesday, March 4.