Complete Game Notes (PDF) / PSAC Weekly Release

No. 10 IUP (13-2, 10-1) at Mercyhurst (10-5, 8-3)
Saturday, January 21, 2012 / 3:00 p.m.
Mercyhurst Athletic Center / Erie, PA

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AT A GLANCE
Next on the list of tough Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West challengers that the No. 10 Crimson Hawks will face is a young and talented Mercyhurst squad. IUP has faired extremely well in Western Division play so far, knocking off three schools with winning records in the PSAC. Mercyhurst boasts an 8-3 record in the conference this season, while the Crimson Hawks take a six-game win streak and are a perfect 5-0 road record to Erie.

LAST TIME OUT
In a matchup that pitted the second-best defense in the PSAC against the conference's top scoring offense, it was defense that won out as the 10th-ranked IUP men's basketball team defeated Edinboro 59-51 Wednesday night.

With the IUP offense struggling in the second half, it was the senior leaders who came up large as they have done all season long. Sr. G Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) nailed a jumper and Sr. G Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) followed with a conventional three-point play to give IUP a 42-31 lead with 15:55 to play in the game.

After another Edinboro run trimmed the lead to just four, Jr. C Danny Ayebo sank two free throws to stop the run, and So. F Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) drilled a jumper just moments later to seal the win.

Sanders led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Smith added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Ayebo finished with 6 points and seven boards, while Jr. G Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) tallied nine rebounds and four assists.

NATIONAL POLLS
The Crimson Hawks have made another jump to 10th in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II Men's Basketball Poll. They moved four spots from 14th in the polls after stringing together five consecutive wins.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sr. G Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) was named the PSAC West Player of the Week after averaging 21.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in IUP's two victories last week. Sanders finished 4-of-10 from three-point range for 23 points against Clarion, going 8-of-17 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line. He poured in 16 points on Wednesday against Cal, adding a season-high eight rebounds.

THE ALL-TIME LEADER
With his four three-pointers last Saturday, Sanders broke Jason Bullock's (92-96) IUP record of 287 career three-pointers made. Sanders stands at 293 3's for his career, and  is averaging over 3 trey's per game this season.

THE IUP ASSISTS CHART
After tallying assist No. 409 of his career Saturday, Sr. G Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) passed Yancey Taylor (92-95) for 3rd place on the IUP all-time assists chart. Smith is just 16 dimes away from passing Eddie Peterson (02-06) for 2nd place, while Mont Mattocks' (66-70) career mark of 450 is the most in program history.

INTO THE TOP TEN
Both Smith and Sanders are also making their way up the IUP all-time scoring list. Sanders is in 7th place on the chart with 1,417 career points after passing IUP greats Garry Lupek (66-69), Jeff Brown (78-82), Randy Allen (71-74) and Sam Scott (77-82) last week. Smith has jumped into 8th place on the list with 1,393 points.

STAT STUFFER
Jr. G Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) has done it all for the Crimson Hawks this season, filling up his individual stat line each night. He leads the team in assists (3.4 apg) and rebounds, pulling down 4.7 rpg. Wells also chips in 5.8 ppg and is 3rd on the team with 13 steals this season.

OFF THE BENCH
IUP boasts a trio of players in Chance, Jr. C Danny Ayebo and So. F Kevin Jones (Washington, DC/Bishop O'Connell) who have helped the Crimson Hawks bench to outscore opponents 238-170 this season, including a 25-point output by the bench against Thiel. Jones went for a career-high 17 against Urbana, converting all seven of his shots.

JUST MARCEL
So. F Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) has flourished in his first year as a starter for the Crimson Hawks, averaging 6.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Souberbielle set a career-high with 10 points against Kutztown and had the go-ahead putback with :04.2 left in the 66-65 win over ESU.

THE BIG MAN
Jr. C Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll) has been a force on the glass for IUP this season, ripping down 4.5 rpg. Wiegand is 6th on the team in scoring (5.5 ppg) and has been excellent at protecting the rim on the defensive end of the floor, recording a team-high 13 blocks.

FROM DOWNTOWN
The Crimson Hawks are the best three-point shooting team in the PSAC this season, making 38.1% of their attempts. Individually, Sanders is 3rd in the conference in 3PT% (44.8), while Smith is right behind in fifth (43.9). IUP makes just under six three's per game as a team.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE
The IUP defense has stifled opponents this year, allowing just 61.3 ppg, which is 2nd in the PSAC. The Crimson Hawks also have the 2nd best scoring margin in the PSAC, winning games by an average of 10.0 points per contest.