Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, MD – Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) scored a team-high 16 points and Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) chipped in 14 as the IUP men's basketball team notched their second consecutive strong exhibition outing in a 73-61 loss at Maryland Friday night.

The Crimson Hawks dominated the first half of play, taking a 34-33 lead into the break thanks to six points, six boards and a pair of blocks from Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll). Despite the strong period for IUP, it was the Terrapins who would jump out to an early 11-5 lead on seven points from Nick Faust and a dunk from James Padgett.

IUP would take its first lead of the game with just under five minutes to play when Keita netted a layup and a triple to give the Crimson Hawks a 23-21 lead with 4:37 to play in the period. Dan Ayebo (Indiana/Indiana) would extend the IUP lead to as much as four with a layup just moments later, but Maryland would finish the half on a 7-4 run to pull within one at the half.

Keita would break the seal on the second half with a layup to give the Crimson Hawks a 36-33 lead just seconds in, but the Terps would rip off a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 45-36 lead with just over 14 minutes to play in the game. Seth Allen had five points for Maryland over that stretch, while Faust capped the run with a trey off of an Allen assist.

The Crimson Hawks would pull within four with just over 11 minutes to play on layups from Wells and Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) and a Keita three-ball, but the Terrapins would race out to another 10-3 run to build a 59-48 lead with 8:30 to play in the game.

Maryland would lead by as much as 14 in the game's waning moments on a Jake Layman dunk and a free throw, but Blake Vedder (Chesterland, OH/West Geauga) would put the finishing touches on another strong offensive output for the Crimson Hawks with a late bucket to trim the final margin to just 12.

Keita finished with 16 points, seven assists and five boards, while Wells added 14 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Vedder chipped in four points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action, while Wiegand tallied eight points and a team-high 11 boards in 25 minutes.

Allen led the way for the Terrapins with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds, while Faust added 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Alex Len was dominant in the middle all evening, notching eight points, six boards and a game-high five blocks.

The Crimson Hawks begin regular season play on November 10 when they host Pitt-Greensburg at the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.