SLIPPERY ROCK — 20 seconds.

That is how long the Slippery Rock University men’s basketball team held a lead in its 73-68 loss to Mercyhurst Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs at Morrow Field House.

Jared Armstrong led The Rock with 28 points with five rebounds while nailing six treys. John Warren II contributed 11 points off the bench with four rebounds and four assists.

The Green and White shot 33 percent from the floor in the first half and took a five-point deficit into the intermission. Most of The Rock’s opportunities came in the second half, bumping its field goal percentage to 44 in the final 20 minutes.

SRU grabbed its only lead of the evening at 14:41 of the second half off a trey by Armstrong, but the lead was short-lived as the Lakers responded with a trey of their own.

After some more timely three-pointers from Mercyhurst (22-6) in the second half, the Lakers were able to take a 10-point lead into the final three minutes of the game. Mercyhurst was 17 of 24 from the free-throw line while The Rock was just 8 of 10.

The Rock would make a few moves in the final moments, but Mercyhurst remained one step ahead to secure the win and move on to the PSAC semi-finals against East Stroudsburg.

SRU ends its season with a 19-10 overall record, 16-5 in conference play. The Rock proved to be dominant on its home court this season with a 12-3 record at Morrow Field House under first-year coach Ian Grady.

SRU won four of the seven games it played down the stretch without All-American candidate Micah Till, who averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds per game before being injured.

Jason Massey and Derrick Ellis scored 16 points each for Mercyhurst.