SLIPPERY ROCK — To be the man, you have to beat the man.

Slippery Rock University's men's basketball team did exactly that Saturday at Morrow Field House, stunning third-ranked and previously unbeaten Indiana (Pa.), 74-69, to move into a tie for first place in the PSAC West.

The Rock (10-5, 7-1) won its eighth straight game by building a 16-point lead early in the second half and withstanding a late run by the Crimson Hawks (14-1, 7-1).

“Everything in the West goes through Indiana,” acting head coach Ian Grady said of the conference playoff race. “If we wanted to stay alive for the (Western Division) title, we had to win this game.”

SRU's women took on top-ranked IUP earlier in the day and was handed its fourth straight loss, 90-54.

But the men continue to be on a positive run under Grady. He is filling in for coach Kevin Reynolds, who continues to be on paid administrative leave during a university investigation.

“IUP is a well-coached team with great players,” Grady said. “We knew they'd make a run at us. But our guys played together and believe in the talent we have on the floor.

“This was a big win for us and for our program.”

When Micah Till drained a trey with 17:07 to play, SRU had a 49-33 lead. But a free throw by Armoni Foster pulled IUP within 66-65 with 2:56 to go and completed a 6-0 Crimson Hawk run.

Vinny Lasley sank both ends of a one-and-one with 2:28 left for The Rock and a Jared Armstrong layup extended the lead to five with a m inute to go.

IUP nver got closer than four the rest of the way.

“Those (Lasley) free throws were huge. They stopped the bleeding, so to speak,” Grady said.

The game featured a matchup between the two favorites for PSAC West Player of the Year. SRU's Micah Till had 25 points and 11 rebounds while IUP's Jacobo Diaz tallied 29 points and 14 boards.

Lasley had 16 points and five rebounds for The Rock with Armstrong contributing 14 points and three assists.

IUP sank only four of 20 shots from beryond the arc in taking the loss.

SRU had dropped its last four games against Indiana and eight of the previous 10 meetings. The Crimson Hawks lead the all-time series, 103-79.

IUP (women) 90, SRU 54

The Crimson Hawks (13-0, 8-0) used a 14-0 run at the start of the second quartter to assume a 41-14 lead on their way to their 24th straight win over The Rock.

SRU (6-8, 4-4) was led by Karns City graduate and junior forward LeeAnn Gibson, who scored 11 points. She scored nine consecutive points for The Rock in the first quarter.

“We ran some isolation plays for her and LeeAnn knows how to finish in there,” said Mars resident and SRU coach Bobby McGraw.

But overall, The Rock proved no match for Indiana. Carolyn Appleby paced four IUP players in double figures with 24 points. Natalie Myers added 16 points and 12 rebounds, Lexi Griggs 12 points and 12 boards, Lauren Wolosik 11 points.

Morgan Henderson had 10 points and 13 rebounds for SRU.

Both teams had 13 turnovers.

“We only had 13 turnovers against the top-ranked team in the country,” McGraw said. “I consider that a positive. They (IUP) took advantage of every mistake we made.

“They shot 46 percent from the floor, 43 percent from 3 ... They were knocking down everything.”

IUP sank 14 of 32 shots from 3-poinrt range while SRU was five of 26.

Gibson reached double figures for the second time in as many games — both against Top 20-ranked opponents. She missed the first six games this year with a high ankle sprain.

“It's not going to be 100 percent the rest of the year. I just have to deal with it,” she said. “We're moving into a part of our schedule where we can string some wins together.

“I'm still confident we can do special things.”

Both SRU teams host Clarion Wednesday night at Morrow Field House.