FAIRMONT, W. Va. – Senior guard
Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown) had his fifth straight 20-point performance, but IUP turned the ball over 17 times as the Crimson Hawks fell to 10th-ranked Fairmont State 85-72 in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Saturday afternoon at Joe Retton Arena.
Norfleet finished with 25 points in the full 40 minutes, going 11-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He also had four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
The Crimson Hawks fall to 6-5 with the loss while Fairmont State improves to 8-1 overall.
Freshman forward
Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) recorded his first career double-double, scoring 17 points while grabbing 10 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench. The 17 points and 31 minutes were both season-highs.
IUP held a huge advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Fighting Falcons 46-to-30. The Crimson Hawks totaled 16 offensive rebounds – including five from senior forward
Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) – and finished with 20 second chance points.
Ugbede finished the game with 10 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes, going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line.
The Crimson Hawks held a 12-9 lead after the opening seven minutes, but Fairmont State rattled off eight straight points en route to a 19-4 run to take a 29-16 lead with under five minutes left in the first half. The Falcons ended up taking a 39-26 lead into halftime.
IUP fell down by 19 points early in the second half and trailed 58-40 at the midway point before a 7-0 run cut the deficit to 11 with 9:20 left to play. That's as close as the Crimson Hawks would get, however, as the one-loss Falcons finished with the 13-point victory.
The Crimson Hawks have two more games before break, starting with a home game with California (Pa.) on Wednesday. Tipoff is 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.
