THE BASICS:

- Score: No. 8 Slippery Rock 41, No. 17 Assumption 39

- Records: Assumption (11-2,); Slippery Rock (12-1)

- Location: Slippery Rock, Pa. (Mihalik-Thompson Stadium)

- The Lead: In the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament on Saturday afternoon, the No. 17 ranked Assumption football team rallied to within two with 3:47 remaining, but the two-point conversion was unsuccessful as the Hounds dropped the eventual 41-39 final to No. 8 Slippery Rock. The game marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- Slippery Rock took advantage of three Assumption turnovers in the first half to jump out to a 27-12 lead at the break.

- The Rock got on the board first with 8:26 left in the first as Shamar Greene scored from one yard out to cap an 11-play, 52-yard drive. The extra-point attempt was blocked though and returned for two points by Assumption's Kyle Contreras (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./John Jay) for the early 6-2 margin.

- Slippery Rock extended the lead just 1:25 later as Joe Phillips returned a fumble 52 yards for the touchdown and the 13-2 edge. The Rock forced the fumble on a sack of sophomore quarterback Marc Monks (Annandale, N.J./North Hunterdon).

- After an Assumption fumble late in the first quarter, Cornelius Raye caught a diving touchdown pass across the middle from 13 yards out for the 20-2 advantage.

- The Hounds forced a fumble with just under eight minutes left in the first half and turned that into points with a 10-play, 58-yard drive to make it a 20-9 margin. Capping off the drive was a two-yard rushing touchdown by senior Kevin Ihlefeld (Norfolk, Mass./Xaverian). Slippery Rock marched down the field with a 14-play drive over just 4:21 though to push the margin back to 27-9 as Dante Nania scored from three yards out.

- Capping off the first-half scoring was sophomore Cole Tracy (Camarillo, Calif./Newbury Park) as the nation's top scoring kicker connected from 47 yards out for the 27-12 halftime lead.

- In the third quarter, the teams traded touchdowns early in the period, including a 21-yard rushing score up the near sideline by freshman Deonte Harris (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) to make it 34-19 with 10:27 left in the third.

- With the score 41-19 just 2:26 into the fourth, senior James Ward (New Haven, Conn./Williston Northampton) scored on a sweep to the left from one yard out on fourth down to close the Hounds to within 41-26.

- Sophomore Ashton Grant (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) pulled down a 10-yard touchdown pass across the middle to close within eight, followed by a forced punt with 5:37 on the clock. Just 1:50 later, Monks found Grant wide open behind the defense as he scored from 45 yards out to make it 41-39. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful as the game remained at just a two-point margin.

- The Hounds forced a punt and took over with 1:55 remaining on their own 44-yard line with the opportunity to win the game. On a fourth down play with 1:25 left, the Rock picked off Monks and returned the ball to the 18-yard line to seal the game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- The Hounds outgained the Rock 520-444 in yards of total offense, including a 365-yard effort by Monks as he completed 27-of-54 passes with two touchdowns.

- Harris led the Hounds with 12 catches for 160 receiving yards and 250 all-purpose yards. Grant also picked up a 100-yard game with nine catches for 134 yards and two scores.

- Slippery Rock was led by 160 yards from Greene, while Nania threw for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

- Junior Nick Valenti (Troy, N.Y./Troy) led the Hounds with 11 total tackles, while junior Jarrod Casey (Milford, Mass./Bridgton Academy) had 10 tackles to finish his season with 130 tackles overall.

- Assumption is ranked No. 17 in the D2Football.com National Poll and No. 19 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II National Poll. Both rankings are the highest in program history.

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