ERIE — Gannon made two-thirds (18-of-27) of its field goal attempts in the first half, including all seven 3-point attempts, in a dominating 71-45 victory over Slippery Rock University in a PSAC men’s basketball quarterfinal playoff game Tuesday night at the Hammermill Center.

While the Golden Knights were red-hot early, The Rock was cold, shooting just 28 percent (7-of-25) from the field in the first 20 minutes, which ended with a 44-22 deficit.

Senior guard Antonio Butler led SRU’s struggling offense with just 12 points. No other Rock player scored more than seven points.

Adam Blazek paced Gannon (21-8) with 18 points. The Golden Knights will host the PSAC’s Final Four this weekend.

Slippery Rock (20-10) will now await the release of the NCAA Division II brackets Sunday night.