Box Score

INDIANA, PA - Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) poured in a career-high 25 points as the 13th-ranked IUP men's basketball team hung on for an exhilarating 89-87 overtime win over Edinboro in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament Tuesday.

Trailing by two with just nine seconds to play in regulation, Anthony Wells (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) drove hard into the teeth of the Edinboro defense and deposited a bucket to send the contest into overtime and blow the roof off the packed Kovalchick Complex.

The Crimson Hawks (22-5) would build up a three-point lead late in the extra frame thanks to a pair of Scooter Renkin (Midlothian, VA/Blue Ridge) free-throws and another freebie from Josh Wiegand (Whiteford, MD/John Carroll), but Isaiah Prince would slice into the lane for two of his team-high 24 points to trim the IUP lead to just one with 24 seconds remaining.

After a Wells free-throw gave the Crimson Hawks an 89-87 lead with 15 seconds to play, The Fighting Scots (18-10) drew up one final play with a chance at the upset. Jay Fletcher's three-pointer would fall short, however, as IUP ripped down the defensive board to lock up the thrilling victory.

Renkin tied a career-high with 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point territory, while a trio of Crimson Hawks in Wiegand, Wells and Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) all finished with 12 points.

After shooting a paltry 28.2% in the first half, the Crimson Hawks shot an outstanding 56.3% in the second period to regain momentum heading into the extra session. IUP won the rebounding battle 41-39, and took excellent care of the basketball, turning it over just eight times on the night.

Edinboro led by as much as seven early in the first half when Jay Fletcher canned back-to-back three's, but IUP would claw back to make it just 33-31 in favor of the Scots at the break. The Crimson Hawks would trail by as much as five in the second stanza before a Wells triple sliced the lead to just two with 3:44 to play.

Prince just missed a triple-double for the Fighting Scots, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Xavier Churnac chipped in 21 points and five boards, while Bryan Theriot and Jay Fletcher finished with 18 points apiece.

With the win, the Crimson Hawks advance to their fourth PSAC semifinal in as many years. With a West Chester win in the east Tuesday, the stage is set for a rematch of last year's semifinal between IUP and the Golden Rams. West Chester won last year's matchup 54-51 on its home floor.

The top seed in the West, IUP will host both semifinal matchups Friday and the PSAC Championship game Saturday night. Tipoff between East Stroudsburg and Slippery Rock is set for 5:30 p.m., while the Crimson Hawks will host the Golden Rams in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for the entire weekend go on sale Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m., both at the Kovalchick Complex Box Office and online at kovalchickcomplex.com.