Box Score

INDIANA, PA — Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) scored 17 points in the second half for a game-high 25, but the Crimson Hawks dropped their first game of the season to PSAC-East rival Bloomsburg by a score of 66-64 Saturday afternoon. IUP falls to 4-1, 2-1 in the PSAC with the loss, while the Huskies improve to 6-1, 3-0 in the conference.

With neither team able to seize control early in the first half, the Crimson Hawks leaned on their senior stars Smith and Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) to give IUP its first substantial lead of the game. Sanders drilled a three with 9:07 left to go in the first, and Smith poured in a three of his own on the next trip down the floor to give the Crimson Hawks a 23-15 lead.

IUP would extrend its lead to 10 later in the half when Smith and Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) both connected on a pair of free throws, but the Huskies would answer with three-pointers from Nnamdi Njoku and Trevon Johnson and a layup from John Schwarz to slice the lead to 30-27 with 2:11 to play in the period. After an IUP turnover gave the ball back to Bloomsburg with under a minute to play, Schwarz added another bucket and Njoku nailed a three to give the Huskies a 32-30 lead at the break.

Bloomsburg took control of the game early in the second half when Dontahe Jordan netted a quick four points and Larry Webster connected on two free throws, but the Crimson Hawks would not be kept down. Sanders took a nice dish from Smith and deposited two, while Smith did some scoring of his own with a pair of free throws. two possessions later Sanders would connect on his second three of the game to give IUP its first lead of the game at 45-44 with 11:29 to play in the second.

The lead was shortlived, however, as the Huskies would respond with a 12-5 run over the next four minutes, capped by a layup from Webster to give Bloomsburg a 56-50 lead with under seven minutes to play in the second half.

With the Huskies clinging to a six point lead as time winded down, Smith took over the Memorial Field House for IUP. He scored 12 points over the next six minutes, including a deep trey with just :28 seconds remaining in the game to send the IUP fans into a frenzy and give the Crimson Hawks their first lead in over nine minutes at 64-63.

With Bloomsburg holding onto the ball for a last shot, it was Lorenzo Christmas who stepped up for the Huskies and drilled a three-pointer from the corner to nudge Bloomsburg ahead by two. the three by Christmas was his only basket of the game, but it would prove to be the most important. IUP had one last chance for a victory, but Chance's half-court shot as time expired rimmed out to seal the win for the Huskies.

Smith led all scorers with 25 points and three rebounds, while Sanders finished with 14 points and five boards. Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll) was very efficient for IUP, finishing with a season-high 12 rebounds and eight points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor.

Njoku led the way for Bloomsburg with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Johnson chipped in 13 points and a game-high 10 assists. Ed Hall finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Webster finished with 10 points and four boards.

The Crimson Hawks continue their "Disney On Ice" homestand at the Memorial Field House tomorrow afternoon when they host PSAC-East foe Mansfield. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m.