INDIANA — Slippery Rock University has been waiting 50 years for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men’s basketball championship.

The Rock’s delivery was delayed for at least one more season Saturday night, but at least they’re going dancing.

SRU rallied to cut a 17-point second-half deficit to 45-41 with 2:27 remaining, but Indiana University of Pennsylvania shut the door for a 52-46 victory in the PSAC championship game at the Kovalchick Complex.

The loss didn’t end SRU’s season, though, as The Rock was awarded an NCAA Division II Tournament berth in the Atlantic Region. Slippery Rock, the No. 7 seed in the eight-team region, will play second-seeded Winston-Salem State on Saturday at West Liberty University at 2:30 p.m.

IUP — which took the No. 3 seed in the region and will play East Stroudsburg in the opening NCAA round — claimed its third conference title in four years.

“Early in the year, our goal wasn’t to win the regular season championship or the conference tournament championship,” said IUP coach Joe Lombardi. “It was just to grow as a team, to improve, to get better and get closer together as a unit. Those are championship characteristics and that’s the culture that championship programs have and these guys bought into it.”

“They answered the bell and did a very nice job,” said SRU coach Kevin Reynolds. “We’re disappointed that we didn’t have our ‘A’ game today, but a lot of that goes to their players and coaches.”

The Rock (22-8) trailed 22-16 at halftime after shooting just 20.7 percent from the floor and finished the game with a 28.8 field-goal percentage. SRU was 4-for-16 from beyond the arc for the game and 2-of-10 by halftime.

While the offense struggled, a stingy SRU defense kept Indiana (24-5) close until the Crimson Hawks went on a 10-2 run to begin the second half. IUP’s lead bloated to 39-22 with 11:38 to go, before The Rock began its comeback.

Devin Taylor — who led SRU with 14 points and six rebounds — sparked the rally with a pair of free throws and a monstrous blocked shot. Tabari Perry tallied eight of his 10 points during the surge.

“We certainly didn’t give them anything,” said Lombardi. “They earned the comeback that they made and that’s why they’re one of the better teams in the region.”

A tip-in from Perry trimmed the once daunting gap to just four points, but IUP center Josh Wiegand immediately answered with a bucket and foul, hit the free throw and extended the lead to 48-41. SRU never cut it to a one-possession game.

“I think I had a smaller guy on me at the time and whenever that happens, coach usually calls my number,” said Wiegand. “I did what I was supposed to do.”

Although Reynolds was disappointed with the defeat, he recognized the effort in giving IUP a scare down the stretch.

“We never gave up. We played the full 40 minutes, played extremely hard,” said the SRU coach. “We didn’t get the one or two stops that we needed or the one or two baskets that we needed and that was really the difference in the game.

“We hold a team to 36 percent shooting and 52 points, you really expect to win,” he added. “But we just couldn’t match our defensive intensity with our offensive execution.”

The Kovalchick Complex — IUP’s home arena — provided a raucous environment. Although outnumbered, the presence of SRU fans was felt.

“Slippery Rock’s crowd actually pulled ours into the game,” said Lombardi. “It was a wonderful atmosphere to play a championship game.”

IUP’s Mathis Keita was named PSAC Final Four MVP. He had nine points, a team-high eight rebounds and three assists in the championship and posted 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds in a 92-76 semifinal win over West Chester the previous night.

“It feels great,” said Keita, a junior guard from France in his first year with the program. “We won. What else do you want?”

“He has a gift, the ability to make people around him better on the court,” said Lombardi of Keita. “That allows the team to rise up a little higher.”

Wiegand led the Hawks with a game-high 15 points and pulled down six rebounds. Anthony Wells had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.

After the game, Reynolds didn’t know what his team’s NCAA fate would be, as the selections were announced late Sunday night. But he believed his squad earned the right to keep playing.

“I think we’ve done enough,” said Reynolds. “That’s a heck of a week. In eight days, we’ve played four top-caliber teams. We’re hoping with the amount of success we’ve had, the 96 wins in five years that we’ve now built some equity.”

SLIPPERY ROCK 46

Devin Taylor 5-11 4-4 14, Tabari Perry 3-5 3-4 10, Darious Clark 1-8 2-2 5, Aubin Reeves 1-7 0-0 2, Luiz Santos 1-4 0-0 2, Gerald Brooks 3-10 2-4 9, Sa’Quan Davis 1-4 1-2 4, John Bayardelle 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 15-52 12-16 46.

INDIANA 52

Josh Wiegand 5-12 5-5 15, Anthony Wells 3-9 2-4 10, Keita Mathis 3-9 1-5 9, Devante Chance 2-4 0-0 5, Marcel Souberbielle 2-6 0-0 4, Scooter Renkin 3-10 0-2 7, Devon Cottrell 1-1 0-0 2, Chris Edwards 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Rocco 0-0 0-0 0, Dan Ayebo 0-1 0-0 0-0, Tyler Sabino 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-52 8-16 52.

Slippery Rock 16 30—46

Indiana22 30—52

3-point goals: Slippery Rock 4-16 (Clark 1-5, Davis 1-4, Perry 1-1, Taylor 0-2, Reeves 0-1, Bayardelle 0-2); Indiana 6-16 (Keita 2-4, Wells 2-6, Chance 1-1, Renkin 1-3, Souberbielle 0-2).

Saturday: Slippery Rock vs. Winston-Salem State at West Liberty in first round of NCAA Tournament, 2:30 p.m.