Box Score

INDIANA, PA - Despite a game-high 23 points from Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) and five three-pointers from Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee), the IUP men's basketball team fell to West Virginia Wesleyan by a score 64-57 on the first day of the Indiana Regional Medical Center Classic at the Kovalchick Complex Sunday night.

The Crimson raced out to an early lead in the first half thanks to three consecutive treys from Sanders and a pair of jumpers from Smith to give IUP a 15-5 lead with just under 12 minutes to play in the half, but the Bobcats would answer.

Kelsey Williams deposited back-to-back layups  and TJ Thompson nailed a jumper to cut into the IUP lead, and Williams would pour in two more layups to shrink the deficit to just two with 3:19 to play in the first half.

The Crimson Hawks lead would shrink to one when Williams connected on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, but Kevin Jones (Washington, DC/Bishop O'Connell) would rip down an offensive board and finish strong for a bucket with just :34 seconds in the first to give IUP a 25-22 lead at the break.

Sanders scored 11 points in the first stanza on 3-of-5 shooting from the behind the arc, while Smith chipped in six points and two assists. Williams had 12 first half points for West Virginia Wesleyan, while Raymont McElroy added five points.

Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) would open up the second period with a jumper for IUP, but the Bobcats would take their first lead since the 15:32 mark of the first half when Chambers slipped in for a layup to nudge Wesleyan in front by a bucket. Both teams would trade buckets over the next seven minutes, until the Bobcats put together a run.

McElroy and Colby Wohlleb would connect on back-to-back three's to push the lead to six, and Williams would lay in two more points to give West Virginia Wesleyan a 39-48 lead with 9:05 to play in the game.

Smith would deposit six points on a pair of jumpers and two free throws to keep the Bobcats within striking distance, but Wohlleb would nail a three-pointer with just over two minutes to play to seal the win for West Virginia Wesleyan,

Williams finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bobcats, while McElroy chipped in 18 points and five boards. Chambers added 12 points, five assists and five rebounds, while Wohlleb finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting for three-point territory.

Smith was 9-of-20 for his 23 points, and added a team-high four assists. Sanders was 5-of-10 from three-point range and grabbed five rebounds, while Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) added six points and five boards.

The Crimson Hawks are back in action tomorrow evening when they host Urbana at 7:30 p.m. in day two of the Indiana Regional Medical Center Classic.