Box Score

KUTZTOWN, PA – Another offensive explosion for Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) and the IUP men's basketball team earned the seventh-ranked Crimson Hawks their 10th straight win, as they defeated Kutztown 88-56 Saturday afternoon.

Keita put up 26 points, the fourth time this season the senior has scored at least 20 points. In his third game with the Crimson Hawks, Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown) busted out 21 points, followed by Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School)'s 16.

As a squad, IUP turned the ball over just seven times, compared to 20 from the Golden Bears. The Crimson Hawks were able to capitalize on the turnovers, scoring 29 of their 88 points following a Kutztown error. 

It was an all-around effort for IUP as the defense showed its power. Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) set a career high with seven steals and Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) matched his career high in blocks with five.

The game was close early on, as the Golden Bears were able to hang with the nation's seventh-ranked team for the first few minutes of action.

With Kutztown up by two through nearly six minutes of play, Souberbielle sunk a three pointer to get things going. IUP would go on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take the ten-point advantage led by Keita, Norfleet and Souberbielle.

The teams exchanged baskets for awhile, but IUP slowly began to pull away, getting up by as much as 17 with just over four minutes left in the half. Kutztown was able to add a few more buckets to cut the IUP lead to 14 at the break.

IUP again dominated in the second half, outplaying the Golden Bears in every category. Eight Crimson Hawks got on the board to finish out the game, with the offense igniting for 53 second half points.

Kutztown's Austin Ford ended the game with a bit of flare, sending the clock to 0:00 with a dunk, but it was too late for the Golden Bears as the Crimson Hawks too k the 32-point win, their highest scoring margin of the season.

In addition to his 26 points, Keita also added eight rebounds, one assist in four steals. He went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while only playing in 27 minutes.

Norfleet's 21 points were his highest of the season. He added six rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes. Souberbielle finished with 16 points, six rebounds, one assist and three steals.

Chance's seven steals set a new career high and his eight assists set a 2013-14 season high. He finished with four points and grabbed three boards. Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C./Greenfield School) played in 21 minutes, scoring eight points and adding two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Crimson Hawks outshot the Golden Bears, shooting 47.1 percent from the field, compared to 42.9 percent from Kutztown. The bench helped out, adding 13 points, led by Cottrell who finished the game with eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and five blocks. 

This is the seventh straight game in which the Crimson Hawks have held opponents to under 60 points. Their scoring defense of 57.0 is good for first in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and second in the nation. IUP is now outscoring opponents by an average of 18.1 points per game, second in the conference.

The Crimson Hawks will head into the holiday break sitting atop the PSAC West with a record of 10-0, 3-0. The only other West school to post a perfect conference record is Mercyhurst, who sits in second place at 5-5, 3-0.

The men won't take the court again until the new year, traveling to Mansfield for a crossover battle with the Mountaineers Jan. 3. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Marion Decker Gymnasium.

The Mountaineers come in averaging 73.5 points per game, but giving up 78.6, sixteenth in the conference. They have a record of 2-9, 0-4 with victories coming against Clarion and Pennsylvania College of Technology. IUP holds the all-time series record against the Mountaineers, with a record of 14-10.