SLIPPERY ROCK — Like an avalanche, a sea of white came rolling down and swept up the members of the Slippery Rock University men’s basketball team.

The Rock fans, donned in white and in full throat all afternoon, had reason to celebrate, storming the court as SRU toppled Indiana (Pa.) University, the 14th-ranked team in NCAA Division II, 70-69 at Morrow Field House Saturday.

The win moved The Rock into a tie with IUP atop the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference standings.

Perhaps more importantly, it was a signature win for a program that not long ago had difficulty drawing fans and earning victories.

“I think it was one of the biggest wins in Slippery Rock’s athletic history, not just basketball,” said SRU men’s basketball coach Kevin Reynolds.

The Rock (19-6, 16-5) led wire-to-wire, jumping out 8-0 and getting the raucous crowd going early.

Senior Devin Taylor was particularly terrorizing to IUP, scoring 26 points and adding 11 rebounds.

His dunk on a follow off a miss by Sa’Quan Davis less than four minutes into the second half gave SRU a 16-point lead and sent the building into a frenzy.

“It was bananas,” Taylor said. “It was an awesome, awesome environment.”

SRU, though, needed every single point of that 16-point cushion.

IUP (20-5, 16-5) made a strong push, going on a 12-2 run after the Taylor jam to cut the lead to six.

The Rock built the lead back to as many as 10 with 2:36 remaining in the game, but the Crimson Hawks made another push, closing the deficit to 70-69 with 4.4 seconds remaining.

Luiz Santos missed two free throws, but a half-court shot by IUP forward Marcel Souberbielle clanked off the back of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

“It was a lot better than last year when we lost it at the end,” Reynolds said. “Trust me, I’ll take this over a close loss any day.”

The Rock had lost eight straight games to IUP, including a 55-49 setback earlier this season, before the win Saturday.

“We knew a lot of the reason we lost to them before was mental mistakes, turnovers,” Taylor said. “We made a conscious effort to take care of the ball, shoot college layups, shoot college shots and rebound the ball.”

The win was the third over a ranked team since Reynolds took over the program five years ago.

“It means a lot considering where this program was,” Taylor said.

Under Reynolds, The Rock is 54-15 at Morrow Field House.

SRU would like nothing more than to play a few more games there this season.

To do that, The Rock must beat Gannon in Erie Wednesday night. A win there and SRU will get a first-round bye and home court advantage throughout the PSAC tournament.

A loss and The Rock could dip as low as a third seed.

“Wednesday night is huge,” Reynolds said. “I want the guys to enjoy this, though. It’s not every day you beat IUP.”

Women

IUP 74, SRU 48 — What was a close game turned into an IUP rout in the second half.

The Crimson Hawks led just 31-24 at halftime, but scored the first eight points of the second half to take control.

Senior Emilee Vitez scored 13 points to pace The Rock (4-21, 3-18).

Lindsay Stamp led IUP (20-7, 15-6) with 18 points.

Men

INDIANA (PA.) UNIVERSITY 69

Marcel Souberbielle 2-9 1-1 5, Devon Cottrell 0-0 2-2 2, Josh Wiegand 6-10 4-7 16, Anthony Wells 9-15 3-3 23, Mathis Keita 2-6 2-2 7, Devante Chance 2-7 4-6 9, Scooter Renkin 2-8 2-2 7, Dan Ayebo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-55 18-23 69.

SRU 70

Devin Taylor 9-15 7-10 26, Tabari Perry 2-4 3-6 7, Luiz Santos 2-2 0-2 4, Darious Clark 7-17 0-0 18, John Bayardelle 1-2 1-1 3, Sa’Quan Davis 2-6 1-2 6, Gerald Brooks 1-7 1-3 3. Totals: 25-56 13-24 70.

Halftime score: SRU 35-26

3-point goals: IUP 5-23 (Souberbielle 0-4, Wells 2-8, Keita 1-4, Chance 1-2, Renkin 1-5). SRU 7-18 (Taylor 1-2, Clark 4-9, Reeves 1-1, Bayardelle 0-1, Davis 1-4, Brooks 0-1)

Women

INDIANA (PA.) UNIVERSITY 74

Lindsay Stamp 7-15 4-5 18, Ashley Stoner 5-9 0-0 10, Marita Mathe 2-10 2-3 7, Amy Fairman 2-6 0-0 6, Melanie Todd 1-3 0-0 2, Zhane Brooks 5-7 2-5 12, Marina Wareham 3-6 2-2 11, Alexis Aiken 1-2 4-6 6, Sarah Pastorek 1-5 0-0 2, Amy Graham 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Wallace 0-1 0-0 0, Lisa Burton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 27-66 14-21 74.

SRU 48

Emilee Vitez 4-7 5-6 13, D’Asia Chambers 3-10 0-0 8, Alexas Brown 2-7 2-4 6, Erinne Cunningham 2-14 0-0 4, Christa Wodarczyk 1-3 0-0 3, Megan Hardiman 2-4 0-0 5, Danielle Garroutte 2-3 0-0 5, Erica Aiello 1-7 0-0 2, Simone Aladenoye 0-0 2-2 2, Bridget mcClure 0-1 0-0 0, Alexis Mayo 0-1 0-0 0, Rebecca Olkosky 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 17-58 9-12 48.

Halftime score: IUP 31-24

3-point goals: IUP 6-18 (Stamp 0-4, Mathe 1-5, Fairman 2-3, Wareham 3-5, Wallace 0-1). SRU 5-26 (Chambers 2-5, Cunningham 0-9, Wodarczyk 1-2, Hardiman 1-3, Garroutte 1-2, Aiello 0-2, McClure 0-1, Mayo 0-1, Olkosky 0-1)