INDIANA — The play could have proven to be the low point of the Slippery Rock University football season.

Trailing The Rock 23-20 in the fourth quarter Saturday at Miller Stadium, Indiana (Pa.) quarterback Lenny Williams faced second-and-9 at his own 41-yard line. He was hit as he threw the football, the ball sailing high in the air and 25 yards downfield.

IUP running back Justice Evans out-leaped Rock defender Tyree Spearnan for the ball. As Spearman fell to the ground, Evans raced into the end zone to complete a 59-yard touchdown play and give IUP a 27-23 lead on homecoming.

It didn't last.

SRU responded with a 14-play, 84-yard drive that ate 7:09 off the clock and produced a 30-27 PSAC West upset of No. 14 IUP.

“Best drive we've had since I've been head coach,” third-year Rock coach Shawn Lutz said. “That was something special.”

Evans' play had given the Crimson Hawks (4-2, 1-2) their first lead since early in the first quarter. SRU (5-1, 3-0) took a 20-6 lead into halftime.

“I'm not gonna lie, our sideline was pretty down after that (Evans) play,” Lutz said. “But our guys showed a lot of fight. We believed all week we could come in here and win this game.”

Rock free safety Kyle Hall — who had two interceptions ahd a team-high nine tackles Saturday — was quick to defend Spearman on IUP's go-ahead touchdown.

“Football has its ups and downs,” Hall said. “Their guy made a play. You enjoy the highs, fight through the lows.”

On SRU's 14-play, game-winning drive, running back Wes Hills carried the ball eight times and caught a pass for 11 yards. He scored the touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with 2:12 to play.

“Nobody blinked. Nobody was nervous,” SRU quarterback Roland Rivers said as his team's final drive started. “We knew what we had to do and were confident we could do it.”

Hills made his first start since injuring a shoulder early in The Rock's Week 2 loss at Shippensburg. He had 26 carries for 126 yards, five catches for 56 against IUP.

“This is why I came here,” the transfer from Delaware said. “I love this kind of atmosphere. We faced adversity and fought back from it.

“My shoulder's fine. I wouldn't be playing if it wasn't. I have no soreness — I'm a quick healer. I'm good to go. I'll take the ball as much as they want me to. I'll do anything for my teammates.”

IUP wasn't finished after Hills' touchdown. The Crimson Hawks moved into Rock territory on their final possession. But on third down from the SRU 42, Williams was intercepted by Eric Glover-Williams with 54 seconds to play. SRU took a knee from there.

The loss was only IUP's second in its last 22 home games and snapped an 18-game regular season home winning streak that dated back to the 2015 season opener, a 33-24 loss to Kutztown.

“This game came down to the final two possessions for both teams,” IUP coach Paul Tortorella said. “Slippery Rock got a field goal and touchdown on theirs. We got a touchdown.

“They finished their last possession and we didn't finish ours.”

The game featured a 90-minute weather delay late in the first half. The Rock led 13-6 and had second-and-8 from the IUP 48 with 37 seconds left in the half when play was halted.

“During that delay, we had time to look back at the first half,” Rivers said. “We were doing our job. We just needed to finish.

“It was important to us to come back out and score before the half.”

The Rock did so in two plays. Rivers found Henry Litwin for 30 yards, then Carnel Harley for 18 yards and a touchdown for the 20-6 lead.

IUP quickly tied things in the third quarter as Williams threw touchdown passes to Dom McNeil and Evans. SRU had outscored its foes 57-9 in the third period before allowing the hosts to rally.

“I liked the fight and determination we showed in bouncing back,” Tortorella said. “We just couldn't stop them when we needed to.

“No doubt, our defense wore down. They kept that unit on the field a lot. Slippery Rock likes to spread you out, that's when they run up the middle. Put an extra guy in the box and they take advantage of one-on-one matchups with your corners. That's a tough offense to stop.”

SRU rolled up 32 first downs and possessed the ball for 36 minutes and 57 seconds, compared to IUP's 23:03.

“We ran the ball and were able to stop the run,” Lutz said. “That's what won us this game. As far as I'm concerned, our offensive and defensive lines get the game ball today.”

SRU rushed for 223 yards on the day, IUP for 69.

The Rock hosts Edinboro at 2 p.m. this Saturday for homecoming.

Notes: IUP lost its homecoming game for the first time since 2010. ... Litwin had seven catches for 100 yards for SRU. ... The teams combined to commit 25 penalties for 316 yards. SRU had 13 for 171. ... Williams threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. ... IUP's leading rusher was Evans with 39 yards. The Crimson Hawks have yet to have a 100-yard rusher this season. ... Butler graduate Tim Vernick had six tackles at middle linebacker for The Rock. ... Chapla booted three field goals in a game for the first time in his career and has connected on 62 consecutive PATs. ... Lutz earned his 20th win as Rock head coach.

Slippery Rock 7 13 0 10 — 30

Team 3 3 14 7 — 27

First Quarter

IUP — Dillon Sarka 21 field goal, 11:32

SRU — Roland Rivers 4 run (Jake Chapla kick), 7:31

Second Quarter

SRU — Chapla 46 field goal, 12:08

SRU — Chapla 33 field goal, 6:51

IUP — Sarka 24 field goal, :55

SRU — Carnel Harley 18 pass from Rivers (Chapla kick), :26

Third Quarter

IUP — Dom McNeil 4 pass from Lenny Williams (Sarka kick), 8:52

IUP — Justice Evans 47 pass from Williams (Sarka kick), 4:09

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Chapla 41 field goal, 10:29

IUP — Evans 59 pass from Williams (Sarka kick), 9:30

SRU — Wes Hills 1 run (Chapla kick), 2:12

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Wes Hills 26-126, Roland Rivers 15-68, Chacar Berry 6-30. IUP, Justice Evans 10-39, Chris Temple 10-33, Lenny Williams 7-(-3).

Passing: SRU, Roland Rivers 23-39-293-2. IUP, Lenny Williams 15-29-350-3.

Receiving: SRU, Henry Litwin 7-100, Wes Hills 5-56, Jermaine Wynn Jr. 4-37, Austin Scott 1-31, Carnel Harley 2-27, Mike Merhaut 1-21, Chacar Berry 2-16, Zach Cirillo 1-5. IUP, Justice Evans 3-117, Ricky Rogers 1-67, Dom McNeil 4-64, Grant Smith 2-33, Zac Kelly 1-24, Quashah Carter 1-8.