SLIPPERY ROCK — Each trip down the floor in the third quarter was the same as the last.

Boom! Three-pointer.

Bang! Three-pointer.

Whap! Another 3.

Five straight trips for Oil City, five straight 3-pointers — and one disappointing 80-65 home loss for the SlipperyRock High boys basketball team Tuesday night.

"It sounds strange to say when you give up 80 points, but I thought we played good defense," shrugged Slippery Rock coach Phil Bushre. "We had a hand in their face on most of those shots. They just made them."

The 3-point barrage by Oil City (7-10, 3-7) turned a one-point Slippery Rock lead into a nine-point deficit. The Rockets charged back to close the gap to three in the fourth quarter, but the Oilers' sharp shooting was just too much to overcome.

The loss itself may be just too much for Slippery Rock to overcome.

Both teams desperately needed a win to stay reasonably alive in the race for a District 10 playoff spot. The loser was faced with the prospect of having to win out and get some help.

"For the loser, that may be ballgame right there," said Oil City coach Jason Fullmer.

The Rockets (8-10, 3-8) are now in that unenviable position.

"We're definitely not in panic mode," Bushre said. "We have three big games left. I don't know what else happened tonight, but I'm sure it's going to be a fight to the end."

So was the game against Oil City.

Slippery Rock built a 27-16 lead with a little more than five minutes remaining in the first half, but Oil City closed the second quarter on a 13-5 run and trailed by just three at the break.

The Rockets looked like they were about to seize control again early in the third period when 6-foot-7 center Matt May picked up his third foul and a seat on the Oil City bench.

May hurt Slippery Rock with his size inside in the first half with 10 points.

But the Rockets and Bushre couldn't have imagined the Oil ers' 6-for-6 performance from 3-point range in a three-minute span in the third quarter.

May inside and the outside shooting "was like a double whammy," Bushre said.

Slippery Rock spent the rest of the game trying to pick up the pieces — and nearly did.

The Rockets drew to 58-55 with a little more than four minutes remaining in the game, but went cold from the floor.

Forced to foul, the Rockets sent the Oilers to the line 15 times in the final minutes. OilCity made 14 of them.

After Ethan Geisler blitzed OilCity the first time around, the Oilers weren't about to let the senior point guard kill them again.

Geisler finished with seven points, but also had seven assists.

"He's a premiere scorer, so teams are trying to not allow him to do that," Bushre said. "That's the thing about Ethan. If he doesn't get a shot, he's going to get someone else a shot. That's what we need out of a senior point guard."

Oil City had five players score in double digits.

Nolan Carll, who hit three of the six Oilers 3-pointers in the third quarter, finished with 18 points.May added 17, Jake Davis had 15, and Willie Winger and Dallas Williams pitched in 13 each.

Brian Giesler nearly willed Slippery Rock to a win with 25 points.

"He's a tough kid and a great player," Fulmer said. "He's only a sophomore. That's kind of scary."

Slippery Rock's next three games are againstSharon and Grove City on the road followed by a home game against section leader Hickory.

OIL CITY 80Steven May 0-1 0-0 0, Logan Lantz 0-1 0-0 0, Dallas Williams 5-9 1-3 13, Willie Winger 3-8 6-6 13, Steven Plumer 1-1 2-2 4, Jake Davis 5-10 5-5 15, Nolan Carll 5-8 4-5 18, Matt May 7-10 3-3 17. Totals: 26-48 21-24 80

SLIPPERY ROCK 65Ethan Geisler 2-7 2-2 6, Ryan Gordon 3-8 2-3 10, Alec McDeavitt 1-2 0-0 2, Andrew Waryanka 0-0 0-0 0, Brant Sloan 2-4 2-4 6, Derrick Orloski 5-10 3-8 13, Kevin Rummel 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Bennett 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Giesler 9-20 4-4 25, Brent Ayers 1-3 0-0 2, Mark Davis 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 23-56 13-21 65

Oil City 14 15 25 26—80Slippery Rock 21 11 17 16—653-point goals: Williams 2, Carll 4; Gordon 3, Giesler 3

JV: Slippery Rock 33-27

Friday: Slippery Rock at Sharon