Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG, PA - A 23 point, seven rebound performance from Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) was not enough as the 16th-ranked IUP men's basketball team fell to defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champion East Stroudsburg 57-55 Friday night.

Facing a six-point deficit at the half, the Crimson Hawks pulled to within one on two occasions in the game's final minute thanks to a pair of Scooter Renkin (Midlothian, VA/Blue Ridge) free throws and a Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) layup, but two freebies from Whis Grant would salt away the win for the PSAC East-leading Warriors.

IUP would play from behind for most of the evening, as East Stroudsburg jumped out to an early 7-2 lead just four minutes into the first half. Gerald Bridges kickstarted the night with a jumper, while a traditional three-point play from Terrance King capped the run.

The Warriors (8-2, 5-1 PSAC) would extend their lead to as much as nine midway through the period, but the Crimson Hawks would rip off a 7-2 run to trim the East Stroudsburg lead to 22-17 with 4:21 to play in the half. Blake Vedder (Chesterland, OH/West Geauga) got the run started with a layup off of a nice dish from Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter), while Keita put the finishing touches on the rally with a dunk.

The Crimson Hawks would slice the lead to just four with 52 seconds to play in the period on a pair of free throws from Chance, but Gerald Bridges would deposit two free throws with just one second remaining to give the Warriors a 28-22 lead at the break.

East Stroudsburg would build a double-digit lead early in the second stanza, but an 8-2 IUP run highlighted by a pair of Keita baskets would pull the Crimson Hawks to within four with 12:54 to play in the game.

Keita would give the Crimson Hawks their first lead of the game with just over five minutes to play on a trio of makes from the charity stripe, but a Grant three-pointer would give the Warriors a 46-44 lead with 5:16 to play.

Keita was superb for IUP Friday night, going 8-of-19 from the floor for his 23 points, while Renkin added nine points and five boards. Souberbielle chipped in eight points and two assists, and Chance finished with six points.

King led the way for the Warriors with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Grant added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.

IUP (8-2, 4-2 PSAC) will look to rebound tomorrow night at Kutztown. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.