Boxscore

Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) hit a pull-up jumper with 16 seconds left and Danny Walsh missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Crimson Hawks held off Edinboro 73-72 Wednesday night at Memorial Field House.

After a timeout with :26 to play Smith drove to his right and pulled up for the final two of his game-high 28 points. Smith also grabbed five rebounds.

Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) hit two free throws with 3:10 remaining in the game to give IUP a 70-68 lead, but Edinboro scored the next four to take a 72-70 lead with just 1:47 left to play. Smith made the front end of a pair of free throw with 1:17 to play to set up the dramatic final minute.

Edinboro trailed 26-25 with 6:50 to play in the first half, but went on 12-1 run to build the largest lead of the game 37-26 with only 3:16 remaining in the half.

The Crimson Hawks answered with a 12-3 run of their own, including nine points from Smith, to cut the halftime deficit to 40-38.

The second half saw the score tied 10 times and the lead change hands on 15 occasions. Neither team led by more than three points.

Three other IUP players joined Smith in double figures. Darryl Webb (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) scored 13 points to go with nine rebounds and a pair of blocks. Willi Estrella (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Escuela sto Hermano Miguel) chipped in a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) also added 12 points and became the 26th player in IUP history to reach the 1,000 point plateau.

Bryan Theriot paced Edinboro with 16 points. Clint Nicholson added 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Crimson Hawks return to action Saturday when they travel to Clarion looking to avenge a 73-68 loss earlier in the season.