SLIPPERY ROCK — Three nail-biting losses in a row?

Antonio Butler and his Slippery Rock University teammates were having none of it.

Held to 45 points in regulation — the fewest in a game during Kevin Reynolds’ six years as head coach — The Rock put together a stellar overtime period in defeating California (Pa.), 63-54, in men’s basketball Saturday at the Morrow Field House.

SRU (16-6, 7-3) scored 19 points in the five-minute overtime period after scoring just 18 in the entire second half.

The Rock had lost its last two games at Indiana and Clarion — both on last-second shots.

“We couldn’t let another one slip away,” said Butler, a 6-foot-4 junior guard.

They almost did so in regulation.

Slippery Rock led by as many as 14 points (24-10) late in the first half as the Vulcans (9-11, 4-6) managed just three field goals in the first 15 minutes.

But that lead was trimmed to seven by halftime and California took its first lead, 35-34, on an Arman Marks jumper with 10:45 left in the game. The score remained close down the stretch.

With the score even at 42 and 2:59 left, Rock leading scorer and rebounder Maurice Lewis-Briggs fouled out.

“(Assistant) Coach (Ian) Grady came up with the idea to shuffle our lineup at that point and Antonio was shifted to the point,” Rock coach Kevin Reynolds said. “That move really turned things for us.”

Butler drove to the hoop and converted a three-point play to knot the game at 45 with 1:49 remaining. Neither team scored again in regulation, though the Vulcans had the last opportunity.

They inbounded the ball from under their own bucket with 20.7 seconds to play.

“We wanted to work the clock down and get the last shot,” California coach Bill Brown said. “The idea was for Jake (Jacubec) to get a good look from outside. He’s our best shooter and we weren’t doing anything inside.

“We set the ball screen, but we set it too high. The shot was farther out than we wanted.”

Jacubec’s long-range jumper wasn’t close and the game headed to overtime.

“We forced them into a contested shot from way out,” Reynolds said. “Our offense deteriorated in the second half, but we did what he had to do to stay in the game.

“We played very well in the overtime and got it done.”

That effort was led by Butler.

With his team trailing 47-45, he completed consecutive three-point plays — converting free throws after sinking a layup and jumper — to give SRU a 51-47 lead with 3:04 left in OT. The Rock built on the lead from there.

“They were big plays because they got us the lead and got the crowd involved,” Butler said. “We needed that extra energy and responded to it.”

“Antonio is strong going to the hoop And he dragged defenders with him,” Reynolds said. “Those were huge plays. They turned the game.”

Butler averages 6.1 points per game, but had 20 points in this contest. Tabari Perry had 12 points and 16 rebounds, Lewis-Briggs 10 points and eight boards before fouling out.

Tynell Fortune led California with 12 points. The Vulcans (4 of 16) and Rock (3 of 17) were a combined seven of 33 from 3-point range.

California (Pa.) 85, SRU (women) 67

The Rock (4-16, 1-9) trimmed a 17-point defcit to six at 63-57 with 7:45 left, but the Vulcans pulled away from there.

D’Asia Chambers scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds while Jazmyne Frost netted 20 points and nine boards in the defeat. Erica Aiello had 10 points and three assists, but no other SRU player scored more than five.

SRU played only seven women until the final three minutes.

“That’s where we’re at right now,” SRU coach Tanya Longo said of her depth. “It hurts us, not only in the second half of games, but as this season wears on.”

Emma Mahady led four Vulcans (12-7, 6-4) in double figures with 22 points. She added 15 rebounds as California had a 50-32 advantage on the boards. Irina Kukolj came off the bench to score 21 points in 20 minutes.

“They are a radically different team since the first time we played them (79-52 loss at California),” Longo said. “Their point guard is different, their lineup is different and they had a starter leave this game early with an injury.

“We did a poor job of recognizing what they were trying to do offensively. We played hard — we accept nothing less — but we failed on the mental side of the game.”

Men

CALIFORNIA (PA,) 53

Josh Dombrosky 0-5 0-0 0, Chris Williams 2-6 2-5 6, Alonzo Murphy 3-5 2-5 8, Jake Jacubec 4-13 1-3 10, Drew Cook 3-6 3-4 10, Avery Allmond 0-0 0-0 0, Tynell Fortune 3-5 5-5 12, Arman Marks 2-8 0-0 5, Kenny Smith 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 18-50 13-22 53.

SLIPPERY ROCK 64

Maurice Lewis-Briggs 3-7 3-4 10, Tabari Perry 3-6 6-6 12, Kelvin Dixon 0-4 0-0 0, Maxx Rynd 1-3 3-4 5, Sa’Quan Davis 2-6 2-2 7, Jordan Grady 1-1 0-0 2, Matej Delinac 3-10 0-1 7, Kenny Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Antonio Butler 6-13 6-7 20, Cornelius Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Erik Raleigh 0-4 1-2 1. Totals: 20-54 21-26 64.

California 20 25 8 — 53

Slippery Rock27 18 19 — 64

3-point goals:Jacubec, Cook, Fortune, Marks; Lewis-Briggs, Davis, Delinac

Wednesday: Slippery Rock at Gannon

Women

CALIFORNIA (PA.) 85

Elena Antonenko 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Hines 2-3 0-0 4,. Emma Mahady 9-20 1-3 22, Kaitlynn Fratz 3-13 2-2 9, Miki Glenn 1-2 8-8 10, Nia-Tayler Clark 1-1 0-0 2, Chelsea McKnight 2-7 0-0 4, Kate Seebohm 0-1 0-0 0, Irina Kukolj 8-15 3-4 21, CeCeDixon 5-8 0-0 11, Shanice Clark 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 32-72 14-17 85.

SLIPPERY ROCK 67

Jazmyne Frost 9-15 2-5 20, D’Asia Chambers 9-19 2-4 21, Erica Aiello 3-9 2-2 10, Aidan Geise 2-8 0-0 5, Megan Hardiman 1-2 1-2 3, Kara Houppert 2-7 0-0 5, Kassidy O’Keefe 0-0 0-0 0, Danielle Garroutte 1-2 1-1 3. Totals: 27-62 8-14 67.

California 41 44 — 85

Slippery Rock32 35 — 67

3-point goals: Mahady 3, Fratz, Kukolj, Dixon; Chambers, Aiello 2, Geise, Houppert

Wednesday: Slippery Rock at Gannon