Complete Game Notes (PDF) / West Chester Host Page / PSAC Tournament Page

PSAC Semifinal
W1 IUP (23-4) vs. E3 West Chester (18-9)
Friday, March 2, 2012 / 7:30 p.m.
Hollinger Field House / West Chester, PA

PSAC Championship
Saturday, March 3, 2012 / 7:00 p.m.
Hollinger Field House / West Chester, PA

Live Stats - WCUPAGoldenRams.com
Live Audio - RedZoneMedia.com
Live Video - NMTVSports.com

AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks continue their quest for a third consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) title when they take on West chester in the PSAC Semifinals. The third seed in the East, West Chester will host the championship round of the Tournament thanks to quarterfinal losses by the two top seeded teams in the East. The Golden Rams are on a nine game win streak dating back to January, while the Crimson Hawks enter the game winners of 11 of their last 12 games.

LAST TIME OUT
Sr. G Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) became IUP's all-time assists leader as the Crimson Hawks fought off a late surge to defeat Cal 74-70 in the Quarterfinals of the 2012 PSAC Tournament Tuesday Night.

The Vulcans ripped off a 19-4 run late in the second half to pull within one with just 1:40 to play, but clutch free throw shooting from Sr. G Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) and Jr. G Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) halted the Cal run and vaulted the Crimson Hawks into the PSAC Semifinals.

Sanders finished with a game-high 27 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point territory, while So. F Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) added 15 points and four steals. Wells filled up the stat line as usual for IUP, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds and three assists. Smith finished with 14 points, six boards a season-high nine assists.

PSAC TOURNAMENT
The top two teams in the West held serve Tuesday night, while the top two seeds in the East went down at home (See PDF for more information).

NCAA ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
The IUP men's basketball team dropped one spot to sixth in the latest NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings. The Crimson Hawks are now behind West Virginia Wesleyan in fifth and Wheeling Jesuit in the fourth spot. The top three remain the same as last year's regional champ, West Liberty is first, Shaw sits in second and Charleston is slotted third.

NATIONAL POLLS
After last week's wins, IUP jumped four spots for the second straight week up to 9th in the latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll. This marks the first time the Crimson Hawks were ranked inside the top 10 since late November, when they were slotted 8th.

THE IUP ALL-TIME ASSIST LEADER
Early in the second half Tuesday, Sr. G Ashton Smith (Scarborough, ON/West Hill Collegiate) surpassed Mont Mattocks' (66-70) to become the all-time leader in career assists at IUP. Tallying nine assists on Tuesday, Smith now has 454 in his career. He is averaging 3.5 assists per game this season, and 5.0 in his last five games.

THE THREE-POINT KING
At 329 for his career, Sr. G Julian Sanders (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) holds the record for career three-pointers made in IUP history. He drained five triples in the Crimson Hawks quarterfinal win over Cal and  is averaging over three treys per game this year.

INTO THE TOP FIVE
After a huge scoring night from Sanders on Tuesday, he moved into 3rd place on the IUP all-time scoring list, passing Eddie Peterson's (2002-06) mark of 1,621. Smith sits just behind Peterson in 5th place with 1,608 points for his career. Robert Misenko (1992-96) is 2nd on the charts with 1,715 points, while Darryl Webb (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) (2007-11) is IUP's all-time leading scorer with 1949 career points.

JUST MARCEL
So. F Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) has established himself as a reliable third scoring threat for the Crimson Hawks over the last month. He is averaging 12.0 points  per game in his last five, and deposited a season-high 15 points on Tuesday against Cal.

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 (3.6 apg) and rebounding, pulling down 4.4 boards per game. Wells also chips in 6.2 ppg and is 2nd on the team with 33 steals this season.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE
The Crimson Hawks have been the best defensive team in the PSAC this season, allowing a conference-low 60.4 points per game. IUP has been great at forcing opponents into bad shots, holding them to just 40.4% shooting from the field and 30.8% from three-point territory.

THE BIG MAN
Jr. C Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll) has been a force on the glass for IUP this season, ripping down a team-high 4.4 rebounds per game. He is 5th on the team in scoring at 5.3 points per game and has recorded a team-high 16 blocks.

TOP FROSH
The smallest player on the IUP roster, Fr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) has made a big impact on the Crimson Hawks this season. He averages 4.9 points per game and is 3rd on the team in assists, dishing out 2.4 dimes per contest. Chance has been extremely disruptive on the defensive end, notching a team-high 41 steals this season.

THE HEAD COACH
Joe Lombardi (Youngstown State, '81) is in his sixth season as the head coach of the IUP men's basketball program and is coming off yet another successful season in leading the Crimson Hawks to their second straight PSAC title and to the NCAA Atlantic Regional title game last year.

Lombardi has compiled a record of 123-57 during his tenure with the Crimson Hawks and has the fourth-highest winning percentage in IUP history. Prior to his time with the Crimson Hawks, Lombardi served as an assistant coach at Saint Francis (PA), Lasalle, and the University of Pittsburgh.