INDIANA, Pa. – Senior forward Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) scored a career-high 18 points as the seventh-ranked Crimson Hawks opened their season with an 86-69 win over visiting Urbana on Friday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
IUP celebrated its 2015 NCAA Division II National Finalist season prior to tipoff before Cottrell and the Crimson Hawks shot 50 percent en route to their 17-point victory.
 
Cottrell went 8-of-11 from the field and converted both of his free throw attempts, adding four rebounds and three assists in just 20 minutes of work. The co-captain eclipsed his previous career-high of 14 points with a layup midway through the second half.
 
Cottrell was one of five Crimson Hawks to score in double figures on the night. Senior guard Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown) scored 17 points and dished out a team-high five assists with two steals in 31 minutes. Sophomore guard Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) nearly tallied a double-double in his first game at IUP with 12 points and nine rebounds, adding three assists and two steals in 30 minutes.
 
Senior forward Tevin Hanner (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill) earned his first career IUP start and scored 10 points in 23 minutes while fellow senior forward Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) scored 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench.
 
The Crimson Hawks didn't get going until midway through the first half. IUP fell behind 22-10 before an 8-1 run cut their deficit to five after a big dunk by Cottrell with 7:36 to play. A layup-and-one by Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) with just under four to play tied the game at 30-30 before Brandon Spain (Baltimore, Md./Glen Burnie) gave the Crimson Hawks a 33-30 lead with a three-pointer after a block by Cottrell.
 
Spain, a junior guard, contributed in many ways with five points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
 
Coming out of the half with a 39-36 lead, the Crimson Hawks went on a 9-1 run to take an 11-point lead just under three minutes into the half.
 
Urbana narrowed the gap to 50-45 just minutes later, but IUP responded with an 18-2 run over six minutes to take a 68-47 lead with eight minutes to play. The Crimson Hawks held onto leads of nearly 20 points the rest of the way to close out the win.
 
Diaz debuted with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists in 19 minutes. Fellow freshman Dante Lombardi (Indiana, Pa./The Kiski School), youngest son of IUP head coach Joe Lombardi, scored seven points and dished out three assists in 26 minutes off the bench.

The win was the eldest Lombardi's 205th career victory. He's now just one away from tying Gary Edwards for first all-time in program history. 
 
The Crimson Hawks will host Bowie State on Saturday night. Tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.