SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - A 3-pointer by junior guard Armoni Foster with :07 left put the No. 8 IUP men's basketball team in the lead as the Crimson Hawks defeated Slippery Rock 70-65 Saturday afternoon at Morrow Field House.

Coming out of a timeout, Foster milked the clock down before hitting a step-back trey from the right wing. A steal and subsequent layup by freshman forward Tomiwa Sulaiman on the inbound pass iced the game for the Hawks, who hung on for rivalry win.

The victory was the fourth straight for IUP, which improved to 19-2 overall and 13-2 in PSAC play. Slippery Rock fell to 11-8 and 7-6. 

How it happened
The Rock dominated early, knocking down four 3-pointers to take a 20-6 lead at the 13:15 mark. IUP made just two buckets and turned the ball over three times in the first seven minutes.

SRU's lead got up to 15 points at 23-8 a few minutes later when the Hawks started to chip away. Foster got a layup-and-and before blocking a shot on the defensive end which led to two more IUP points. He made a layup on IUP's next possession before assisting on a bucket by sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield to cap a 9-0 run. 

After The Rock took their lead back to double-figures, the Hawks outscored SRU 17-6 down the final stretch of the first half to take a lead into halftime. IUP went on a 9-0 run over 3:34, including 3-pointers by Porterfield and junior guard Dave Morris. After a SRU trey, Porterfield sent the Hawks into the break on top 35-34 with his third triple of the half s time expired.

SRU came out strong in the second half, scoring nine straight points to take a 43-35 lead. The Hawks later went on a 14-0 run over 3:45 to take a 54-46 lead after a pair of foul shots from Morris. 

With under four minutes to play, The Rock knocked down four 3-pointers on four straight possessions to erase a 7-point deficit an take a 65-62 lead with 1:32 to play. IUP came back to tie the game with a trey by Morris and forced two missed shots on the defensive end, as Sulaiman had a key block with 35 seconds to play.

After a timeout, Foster's three followed and Sulaiman finished his big game with a huge turnover and layup.

The Crimson Hawks overcame a huge shooting performance by SRU from beyond the arc as The Rock made 15-of-36 from deep. Overall, IUP outshot SRU 53 percent to 37 percent. 

Who stood out
Foster finished with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 7-of-9 from the foul line. He added seven assists, four rebounds and two blocks in 40 minutes. It was his 12th 20-point game of the year, including his fourth straight.

Porterfield scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, going 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and had seven rebounds. 

Sulaiman had a season-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a pair of free throws. He also had five rebounds, three blocks and a steal in 28 minutes. Morris also hit double-figures in scoring with 11 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists. 

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 8 in the NABC Coaches and No. 5 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls ... IUP head coach Joe Lombardi improved to 27-6 lifetime against Slippery Rock ... IUP is 67-6 in PSAC West game since the 2016-17 season, including 34-4 on the road ... This was the ninth game of the season IUP has shot over 50 percent ... Foster moved into 18th place in IUP history with 1,339 career points (Garry Lupek, 17th, 1358).

Up next
IUP continues its home-and-home with Slippery Rock on Monday. They'll host The Rock at 7 p.m. at the Kovalchick Complex. Earlier this week, IUP administration announced that fans would be prohibited from basketball home games between Feb. 1 and Feb. 13. 

Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.