Box Score

EDINBORO, PA - Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) scored a team-high 25 points and Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) added 23 as the IUP men's basketball team went on the road and defeated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West foe Edinboro 80-72 Wednesday night. With the win, the Crimson Hawks improve to 19-4, 15-3 in the PSAC, and are on the doorstep of clinching first place in the tightly contested Western Division.

The IUP offense had one of its best performance of the year Wednesday, with five players notching at least six points. It was Sanders who had the hot hand early in the first half, scoring eight points in the first five minutes of the game. The Crimson Hawks built up an 11-point lead with just under eight minutes left in the first when Smith and Sanders drilled back-to-back three's.

Smith would drain another trey just moments later to extend the lead to 31-17 with just 7:12 to play in the period. The lead would reach as much as 15 late in the half when Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) converted a conventional three-point play, but the Fighting Scots would answer when Cory Somerville connected on a free throw and Sam Moore scored off of a turnover.

As time winded down in the half, Souberbielle spotted Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll), who drilled a mid-range jumper to give the Crimson Hawks a 43-29 lead at the break. Wiegand had four points in the half, while Sanders had 16 points and Smith chipped in 11.

IUP would keep Edinboro at arm's length throughout the second half, extending the lead to as much as 17 thanks to a layup in transition by Smith and a basket by Souberbielle. The Fighting Scots would trim the lead  to just 12 midway through the half when Somerville deposited a duece and Jay Fletcher knocked down a jumper, but The Crimson Hawks would not flinch.

Smith nailed yet another three-pointer to give IUP a 15 point lead, and Danny Ayebo deposited two off of a nice dish from Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) to give the Crimson Hawks a 60-43 lead with 9:48 to play in the game. Edinboro would fight right back however, slicing the lead to single-digits for the first time since midway through the first half when Somerville and Alex Moore scored on consecutive trips down the floor.

With the lead shrinking and the Fighting Scots gaining momentum as timed ticked away in the second half, Smith nailed a jumper to push the lead back up to 10, and Souberbielle connected on a jumper to give the Crimson Hawks 75-63 lead and put the game out of reach.

Smith 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from long range for his 25 points, while Sanders was 8-of-10 and 4-of-5 from distance for his 23. As a team, IUP shot a sparkling 58.7% from the field, and went 8-of-12 from three-point territory. Souberbielle was excellent Wednesday, chipping in 14 points and three rebounds.

 Prince had a game-high 27 points for Edinboro, while Somerville added 15 points and seven rebounds. Clint Nicholson finished with five points, five assists and a game-high nine boards.

The Crimson Hawks return home this Saturday looking to lock up first place in the West against Slippery Rock. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.