Box Score

WEST LIBERTY, WV – Despite double-figures from three different players, the Crimson Hawks run in the tournament came to a halt on Tuesday night as they fell to top-seeded West Liberty 86-63 in the 2013 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championship game.

Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) finished with a team-high 18 points with seven rebounds (six offensive) and two steals in 37 minutes. Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) played all 40 minutes and netted 12 points with six boards while Scooter Renkin (Midlothian, VA/Blue Ridge) added 16 points and eight rebounds.

For their efforts, Keita and Souberbielle were both named to the Atlantic Region All-Tournament Team.

The top-ranked Hilltoppers had a terrific shooting night, converting 53 percent (31-of-58) from the floor, including 52 percent (13-of-25) from beyond the three-point arc. Six players scored in double-figures for West Liberty, including Alex Falk with 20 and Chris Morrow with 18.

Morrow was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player while teammates Falk and Cedric Harris also made the all-tournament team.

It was a 6-6 game at the 17:48 mark before the Hilltoppers went on a 15-4 run over the next 4:34 to jump out to a 21-10 lead. IUP chipped away at that lead, getting three-pointers by Renkin and Keita while a jumper by Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) cut the Crimson Hawks deficit to 21-19 with 9:40 to play.  

More successful shooting from West Liberty got its lead back to double-digits at 36-24 but IUP refused to back down, responding with an 11-3 run to narrow the gap to 39-35 with 1:17 before the break. West Liberty stopped that run and with a jumper in the final seconds took a 45-35 lead into the break.

The Crimson Hawks were the team that came out hot to start the second half, opening with a 13-3 to tie the game at 48-48 after a free throw by Keita with 14:02 to go. Keita and Souberbielle each knocked down three-pointers during the run, which saw IUP force four turnovers while West Liberty shot 0-of-5 from the field.

The teams would go back-and-forth over the next few minutes, with IUP trying to match West Liberty's three-pointers on the other end. After a jumper by Wells cut IUP's deficit to 57-55 with 11:16 to play, the Hilltoppers ripped off 10 straight points en route to a 12-1 run as they took a 69-56 lead three minutes later.

With West Liberty's shooting down the stretch, the Crimson Hawks could only come as close as 10 points the rest of the way as the Hilltoppers went on for the 23-point victory.

The game ends the careers of five Crimson Hawks, as seniors Renkin, Wells, Dan Ayebo (Indiana/Indiana), Chris Edwards (Philadelphia/North Catholic) and Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll) wrap up their time in an IUP uniform.

IUP finished the season with a 26-6 overall record and its ninth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship, also finishing with its fourth consecutive PSAC West title. The Sweet Sixteen appearance for the Crimson Hawks was their third in the last four seasons.

IUP is one of just six teams in all of Division II to advance to the NCAA tournament in each of the last five seasons and the only Atlantic Region school to have qualified for the last five consecutive tournaments.

It was the Crimson Hawks fifth straight 20-win season under Head Coach Joe Lombardi, going 130-29 with three PSAC titles during that span.