Boxscore

Reggie Chambers scored with 24 seconds left to cap a West Virginia Wesleyan rally from a 15-point second half deficit and give the Bobcats a 73-71 victory over IUP at Rockefeller Center in Buckhannon, W.Va.

Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) gave the No. 7 Crimson Hawks (3-2) their final lead of the game at 71-70 with a layup 17 seconds earlier. After Chambers put the Bobcats (3-2) back in front, IUP had two chances at the game-winning basket, but Darryl Webb (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) and Smith were unable to convert.

Neven Zeravica hit a free throw and missed the second on purpose but did not hit the rim. IUP inbounded, but with only three-tenths of a second remaining a desperation 3-pointer by Webb would not have counted even had it gone in.

Webb led the Crimson Hawks with 22 points and became the sixth player in school history to reach the 1,500 plateau, finishing the night with 1,501. The senior All-American forward needs 10 points to pass Joe DeLise for fifth place and 35 to eclipse Derrick Freeman for fourth on the all-time scoring list.

Willi Estrella (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Escuela sto Hermano Miguel) was the only other IUP player in double figures, finishing with 11 points while tying Webb for the team lead with eight rebounds.

The Crimson Hawks held a 38-22 advantage on the boards and limited West Virginia Wesleyan to only one offensive rebound but allowed the Bobcats to shoot 56.9 percent, including 63 percent in the second half, to spark their comeback.

Marquis Weddle led all scorers with 26 for West Virginia Wesleyan, including a 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining that gave the Bobcats a 70-69 lead, and Zeravica finished with 19 and a team-high seven rebounds. Chambers dished out nine assists and made four steals in addition to his game-winning basket.

IUP maintained at least a nine-point lead for most of the second half and led 63-54 after a free throw by Webb with 5:48 left. It was at that point that the Bobcats began their rally, scoring the next eight points in a span of just 1:10 and pulling within 63-62 on a steal and layup by Chambers at the 4:38 mark.

The Crimson Hawks seemed to right the ship when Webb and Smith made two free throws each to make it 67-62, but a 3-point play by Weddle and a layup by BeJay Corley tied it with 2:25 left. IUP regained the lead on a Webb basket with 1:34 to go, and the lead changed hands three times the rest of the way.

The Bobcats scored the first two points of the second half and trailed only 36-30 before IUP went on a 15-6 run with back-to-back 3-pointers by Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) and Kevin Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa./Academy Park) building the Crimson Hawk cushion to 51-36 with 14:11 remaining.

IUP returns home for the Indiana Regional Medical Center Classic Dec. 11-12 at Memorial Field House. The Crimson Hawks face Central State Saturday and Urbana Sunday, with both games tipping off at 7:30.