Box Score

INDIANA, PA – On a night where the seniors were honored for their fantastic careers with the program, the 13th-ranked IUP men's basketball team leaned on those seniors to carry them to a 65-50 win over Gannon Saturday night. With the win, the Crimson Hawks close out the regular season with a record of 22-4, 19-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West.

In his first start of the 2011-12 season, senior Ethan Robinson (Gales Ferry, CT/Ledyard) got into the action early for IUP, draining a midrange jumper to give the Crimson Hawks a 7-2 lead just three minutes into the game. The Golden Knights would charge back over the next five minutes, knotting the game at 13-13 when Tanner Furno grabbed an offensive rebound and went back up strong for a bucket.

The game would not stay tied for long, however, as IUP would rip off a 7-0 run that spanned just under three minutes to take a 20-13 lead with 9:51 to play in the half. Brandon Belt would answer with a three-ball for Gannon on their next trip down the floor, but senior Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) would fire right back with a triple of his own to push the lead back up to seven.

The Crimson Hawks would build their lead late in the period when Sanders sliced into the lane for a layup with just over two minutes to play. Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll) would cap a terrific first half for the Crimson Hawks with a thunderous dunk off of a nice feed from Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) to give IUP a 31-20 lead at the break.

Sanders had 10 points and two rebounds in the first stanza, while Wells chipped in five points, three assists and two steals.

With first place in the West all locked up entering the game and a Tuesday matchup with rival Cal on the horizon, the Crimson Hawks intensity level could have let up in the second half Saturday, but the best defense in the PSAC was relentless as usual, stifling opposing shooters and dominating the boards.

The IUP offense was in sync as well, extending the lead to 16 early in the second half thanks to five points from Sanders. After Gannon trimmed the lead to 10 midway through the second, it was senior Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate)'s turn to take over.

Smith nailed a deep trey to push the lead back to 13, and would take the contact and finish strong at the rim for two more just moments later to give IUP a 49-35 lead with under 10 to play.

With Gannon hanging around and looking to get back into the game late, Smith would halt any plans of a comeback when he drilled back-to-back three-pointers to build the lead to 22 and send the Crimson Hawks on their way to the PSAC quarterfinals.

Smith finished with 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from distance, and added five rebounds and five assists. Sanders poured in a game-high 18 points and pulled down six boards, while Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Dmitry Martynenko led the way for Gannon with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, while Adam Blazek added nine points, four boards and four steals. Brandon Belt and T.J. Wilson both chipped in eight points.

The Crimson Hawks now look ahead to the quarterfinals of the PSAC tournament this Tuesday, when they will host fourth-seeded Cal at the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff with the Vulcans is set for 7:00 p.m.