SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – IUP guards Malik Miller and Armoni Foster each scored 23 points to help lead the ninth-ranked Crimson Hawks to a 78-74 win over Slippery Rock on the road at the Morrow Field House Wednesday night.
 
In what ended up being a typical PSAC West battle, IUP overcame a second half run by The Rock with key buckets and free throws down the stretch.
 
The Crimson Hawks looked like they were about to take control of the game, grabbing a 61-50 lead with 13:25 to play. Slippery Rock responded with an 8-0 run then cut its deficit to 65-64 on a pair of free throws by Micah Till with 7:15 to play.
 
Miller twice made it a two possession game in the following minutes, including a scoop layup-and-one with 4:29 left and a pair of free throws with 2:15 to go.
 
Till again cut IUP's lead to two points at 74-72 with 1:21 left and regained possession with 26 seconds to go. Following a timeout, Foster drew an SRU offensive foul which eventually led to two more clutch free throws by Miller with 14 seconds on the clock.
 
Miller later iced the game with three seconds left with two more free throws, finishing the night 7-of-7 from the line.
 
As a team the Crimson Hawks went 18-of-22 from the foul line, including 13-of-14 in the second half. They needed each of those as The Rock went 11-of-11 from the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes.
 
The Rock also out-rebounded IUP 46-to-27, including 23 offensive boards that led to 25 second chance points.
 
Who stood out
Miller shot 7-of-16 and made two 3-pointers to go along with his seven free throws. The 23 points was a season-high for Miller, who has four 20-point games. He added six rebounds and three assists.
 
Foster also shot 7-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He went 5-of-6 from the foul line and led IUP with seven rebounds.
 
Freshman forward Ethan Porterfield also reached double-figures with 11 points, adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 9 in the NABC Top 25 and No. 9 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … Head coach Joe Lombardi improved to 25-7 all-time against Slippery Rock, including 10-7 at Morrow Field House … At four points, this was IUP's closest win since defeating Le Moyne 82-78 on the road in November.
 
Up next
This was the first of three straight road games for the Crimson Hawks, who head to Erie Saturday night to face Gannon (6-6, 5-3). Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.