SLIPPERY ROCK — Riding a 16-game winning streak and holding the No. 1 ranking in United States Collegiate Athletic Assiociation Division II, Penn State-New Kensington tried playing with the big boys Saturday.

And Slippery Rock shot it down.

SRU sank 11 of its first 15 3-point field goal attempts — 12 of 19 for the game — in posting an 87-63 college basketball victory at Morrow Fieldhouse.

"This is disappointing,"PSU-New Kensington coach Ryan Shank said. "I thought we could play with them."

The Lions (17-3) compete in the USCAA— a national organization for colleges with less than 1,500 students — and are one of eight teams invited to play in the USCAAnational championship tournament Feb. 28 and March 1 in South Portland, Maine.

All three of PSU-New Kensington's losses are to NCAAopponents. Division IIEdinboro handed the Lions an 89-58 loss and Division IIIAllegheny gave them a 58-57 defeat, both games in November.

Saturday, it was Slippery Rock's turn.

"I was worried about how we'd play in this game,"SRUcoach Jamal Palmer said. "It was a Saturday morning tip-off against a team that plays at a lower level than we do.

"But 17-2 is 17-2. They obviously know how to play the game together and do things right."

Palmer need not have worried, however. SRUhad a 13-1 lead before the game was five minutes old. Matt Schaefer, Erroll Robinson and Darnell Johnson drained 3-pointers for The Rock's first nine points.

"They hit 12 3's ... I don't think I saw Slippery Rock attempt 12 threes in the two games I saw them,"Shank said. "I didn't think they could shoot like that."

The Rock (6-17) lead peaked at 31 when Butler graduate Jade Burka sank a lay-up for a 68-37 advantage with 10:45 to play.

Four SRUplayers scored in double figures. Johnson, Robinson and Italy Levy had 14 points each with Jamar Scales adding 12.

Johnson and Levy were a combined 8-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Rock had 25 assists on its 36 field goals. Ten SRUplayers scored points in the first half alone.

"We worked in some guys who don't see that many minutes normally,"Palmer said. "We emphasized to our guards to penetrate and find the open man.

"The guards did a good job of kicking the ball back out. We were able to spot up for a lot of open looks. Hopefully, we'll do that on a regular basis now."

SRU's 87 points marked its second-highest total of the season. The Rock scored 103 in an overtime win over Glenville State on Dec. 3.

R.J. Hurt scored 26 points — including five treys — for the Lions.

SRUhosts Indiana (Pa.) in a critical PSACWest game at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The women's game is at 6 p.m.

The Rock is 3-5 in league play and trails IUPby a game for the final PSACWest playoff spot. The Rock has not been to the conference tournament since 2000.

SRU has no seniors on its current roster.

"It's important to me that we get there,"Palmer said of the postseason. "It's time for us to show that this program is beginning a new chapter and it's not going to be the same old stuff here anymore."

PSU-NEWKENSINGTON 63Zack Ziemanski 2-7 4-5 8, Michael Fisaher 5-11 0-0 13, R.J. Hurt 8-15 5-6 26, Jeremy Hurt 4-9 1-1 9, Josh Robinson 2-5 0-2 4, Michael Simmons 1-3 1-2 3, Garett Jackson 0-1 0-1 0, Pete Kaplon 0-2 0-0 0, Andre Russell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 22-54 11-17 63

SLIPPERYROCK87Darnell Johnson 5-8 0-0 14, Matt Scaefer 1-2 0-0 3, Cory Somerville 4-8 0-3 8, Lonnie Perry 2-4 0-0 4, Erroll Robinson 6-11 0-114, Rashiid Coleman 4-7 0-0 9, Italy Levy 5-8 0-0 14, Jamar Scales 6-9 0-0 12, Joseph Vines1-4 2-4 4, Jade Burka 2-3 1-2 5. Totals: 36-64 3-10 87

PSU-New Kensingon 23 40 —63Slippery Rock 45 4 2 —873-point goals: Fisher 3, R,J. Hurt 5; Johnson 4, Schaefer, Robinson 2, Coleman, Levy 4

Wednesday: Indiana (Pa.) at SRU