IUP Crimson Hawks (2-0) host IRMC Classic
Saturday & Sunday, November 23 & 24
Kovalchick Complex | Indiana, PA

Complete Game Notes (.PDF)
Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks look to score two more wins at home and move to 4-0 on the season at the 2012 IRMC Classic this Weekend at the Kovalchick Complex. The Crimson Hawks will host a tough Alderson-Broaddus squad on Saturday before taking on the Seton Hill Griffins Sunday.

LAST TIME OUT
Jr. G Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) scored a game-high 21 points and added nine assists as the Crimson Hawks rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to down Bowie State 75-72 Wednesday. Keita was 11-of-13 from the free throw line for his 21, while Jr. F Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) chipped in 19 points and six rebounds.

GRAND JOUEUR
Just two games into the 2012-13 campaign, Keita has asserted himself as a force on both sides of the ball for IUP. He leads the team in scoring and assists at 17.0 and 8.0 per game, and is shooting an even 50.0 percent from the field. Keita played a major role in the Crimson  Hawks come-from-behind win on Wednesday, playing a game-high 39 minutes including the entire second half.

NOT BY CHANCE
Much of the Crimson Hawks early-season success can be attributed to the improvement of So. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter), who has upped his scoring and distributing this season. Chance is averaging 15 points and 5 assists in 32 minutes per game off the bench, and is second on the team in steals with four.

THE BIG MEN
IUP is anchored on the front line by a pair of 7-foot centers in Jr. C Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll) and Jr. C Blake Vedder (Chesterland, OH/West Geauga). Vedder tallied 12 points and three blocks on Wednesday, while Wiegand pulled down seven rebounds. Vedder was also 6-of-6 from the floor against Bowie State, sparking the Crimson Hawks comeback with a trio of powerful dunks.

THE HEAD COACH
Joe Lombardi (Youngstown State, '81) enters his seventh season as the head coach of the IUP men's basketball program after leading the Crimson Hawks to a third consecutive PSAC regular season title and an appearance in the NCAA tournament for a fourth straight season in 2011-12. Under the guidance of Lombardi, IUP compiled a record of 104-23 in the last four years, and the Crimson Hawks are just one of three teams in the country to finish ranked in the top 25 nationally in three consecutive seasons.

Prior to his time with the Crimson Hawks, Lombardi served as an assistant coach at Saint Francis (PA), Lasalle, and the University of Pittsburgh.