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GameDay Central 
No. 7 IUP Crimson Hawks (8-0, 3-0) 
vs. Shippensburg Raiders (1-6, 0-3) 
Wednesday, December 18, 2013 | 7:30 p.m. 
Kovalchick Complex | Indiana, Pa. 

Complete Game Notes (.pdf) 

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PSAC Statistics | NABC Top 25

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AT A GLANCE
IUP continues Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover play, hosting Shippensburg in an East-West matchup. The Crimson Hawks come in riding an eight game win-streak to open the season, in control of the PSAC West. IUP defeated Millersville last night, taking the 74-57 victory over the Marauders. Shippensburg enters the game on a two game losing streak, with only one victory on the season. The Raiders sit at 1-6, 0-3 in the 2013-14 season, with their only victory coming over non-conference Chestnut Hill.

THE SERIES
The Crimson Hawks hold the all-time series lead, winning 69 games and dropping 40. IUP has won the last four matchups with the Raiders.

WELCOME BACK
Chris Fite returns to the Kovalchick Complex Wednesday night, in a different role this season. Formerly the top assistant with the Crimson Hawks, Fite took the head coaching job at Shippensburg in June. Just the 10th head coach in Raiders' history, Fite joins the program after spending seven seasons with IUP, where he was apart of five NCAA tournament appearances, three PSAC championships and a national title game appearance in 2010. Fite earned his first head coaching victory Nov. 30 when the Raiders defeated Chestnut Hill 70-64.

HEADED EAST
The Crimson Hawks will pack up and head east, following Wednesday's game against Shippensburg. They'll head to Kutztown Saturday in the team's final game of 2013, before heading to Mansfield and Lock Haven in the first two games of the new year. The team will not return home until Jan. 8, when they host PSAC East rival Bloomsburg. The next five games, all against East opponents, will be the final non-divisional games of the regular season for the Crimson Hawks.

DEFENSE IS KING
IUP leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 58.5 points per game, on average. No team has scored more than 70 points against the Crimson Hawks, and, in their last five games, they've held opponents to under 60 points. They're defeating opponents by an average of 14.8 points per game, good for second in the PSAC.

HELLO THERE
So. G Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown), the reigning PSAC East Freshman of the Year, made his much anticipated debut with the Crimson Hawks Tuesday. The Virginia native transferred to IUP from Cheyney following the 2012-13 season but was academically ineligible for the fall semester. In his first game with the reigning PSAC champs, Norfleet tallied 12 points, three rebounds, four assists and one steal. Getting into foul trouble early on, he finished the game with 22 minutes.

TROUBLE WITH THE THREE
The Crimson Hawks are struggling to find points from behind the arc, shooting just .171 from three-point range in their last three games. They've connected on just six attempts in those games, while taking 35 shots. Against Millersville, R-Jr. Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C./Greenfield School) was the only Crimson Hawk to sink a three, as the team went 1-of-7 from behind the arc. 

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG
The Raiders enter the game on a two game losing streak, only claiming one victory on the season. With a 1-6, 0-3 record, they sit in eighth place in the PSAC East, just ahead of last place Mansfield. They're averaging just 62.4 points per game, last in the conference, led by So. G Joe Lococo, who accounts for 19.1 of those on average. Lococo is also the team's leading helper, with 3.0 assists per game. Defensively, the Raiders allow opponents to score 74.4 points per game, falling to opponents by an average of 12.0. 

CRIMSON HAWKS BY THE NUMBERS 

58.8	The number of points IUP is allowing opponents to score, on average, this season. That mark leads the PSAC.
3	The number of PSAC championships the Crimson Hawks have won in the last four years.
6	The number of three-pointers the Crimson Hawks have made in their last three games combined. They've shot just .171 from behind the arc in those games.
39	The number of conference victories IUP has had over the previous three seasons, tops in the PSAC.
14.8	The average scoring margin for the Crimson Hawks this season, second in the conference.
1,413	The average number of fans in attendance for each of IUP's four home games this season. That mark leads the conference, almost 500 people above second place Gannon.
69	The number of times IUP has defeated Shippensburg in the history of the series.
4	The number of times IUP has opened up the season with eight straight wins. They won 11 straight in 2009-10 and 1995-96, 21 straight in 1994-95 and 26 straight in 1993-94.
6	The number of losses incurred by IUP's exhibition opponents this season, Michigan State (1) and La Salle (5). The Crimson Hawks lost both exhibition contests.