GameDay Central 
IUP Crimson Hawks (21-5, 15-5 PSAC) 
at Pitt-Johnstown (12-12, 9-11 PSAC) 
Saturday, February 21, 2015 | 3:00 p.m. 
Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center | Johnstown, Pa.  

IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: PittJohnstownAthletics.com | Fan Stats | Media Stats
Live Audio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Live Video: Mountain Cat Athletics

AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks are on the road for the final time of the regular season when they face Pitt-Johnstown in a Saturday afternoon contest. IUP stopped its two-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 69-61 victory over rival Slippery Rock. The Mountain Cats will head into the game on a two-game losing streak of their own as they fight for one of the final two spots in the upcoming PSAC tournament.

LAST TIME OUT
Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) had  23 points and 7 assists to lead IUP past SRU 69-61 for a rivalry game win on Wednesday. The Crimson Hawks led by as many as 22 points in the second half and held off a late SRU rally to secure the win. 

WHAT'S NEXT
IUP wraps up its regular season next Wednesday when they host Clarion on Senior Night. The Golden Eagles gave IUP all it could handle in the first meeting before the Crimson Hawks ultimately came away with an 87-72 on Jan. 24. 

PSAC PLAYOFF POSITIONING
There is a three-way battle for the top spot in the PSAC West with just a week to go in the regular season. Gannon has the inside track on the West title with a 16-4 league record while Mercyhurst is 16-5 and IUP is 15-5. The Crimson Hawks will need to win out and get help from other teams if they hope to earn one of the top two seeds and a first round bye in the PSAC tournament. 
Remaining Schedules
•IUP: at UPJ (12-12), Clarion (9-15)
•Gannon: at Cal (14-12), Seton Hill (7-17)
•Mercyhurst: at Seton Hill

TIEBREAKERS
According to the PSAC Handbook, the following criteria exist for tiebreakers for selection to the tournament:
A) Head-to-head 
B) Record vs. divisional opponents, going from top of standings to bottom
C) Wins vs. NCAA D2 opponents over .500
D) Win pct vs. NCAA D2 opponents under .500
E) Coin toss
For three-way ties:
• Higher seeds are determined first
• Each tiebreaker step above will be used until at least one team is awarded 
higher seed or one team is eliminated from tiebreaker

NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
IUP was ranked 3rd in the season's first Division II regional rankings, which were released by the NCAA on Wednesday. These rankings determine the eight teams from each region that make the field of 64.
Atlantic Region Rankings
1. West Liberty     5. Mercyhurst
2. Fairmont St.     6. Slippery Rock
3. IUP     7. Bowie State
4. Gannon    8. Glenville State

IUP IN THE POLLS
The Crimson Hawks have dropped out of the NABC coaches' top 25 poll, as their 14 points received in the voting is just beyond the 25th spot. This is the first time since the 2012-13 preseason release that IUP does not show up in the coaches' poll. 

ROAD WARS
IUP is just 7-4 on road games this season, including losses in each of its past four games away from the KCAC. All of those losses have been by 5 points or fewer, with an average deficit of 3.5 per game. 

ALL-TIME ASSISTS CHART
With 450 career assists, Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) is just 7 away from becoming IUP's all-time assist king. He's currently tied for 2nd with Mont Mattocks (1966-70) and has his eyes set on former teammate Ashton Smith's (2008-12) mark of 456. Chance is averaging 6.0 apg this year and has tallied 7 or more in a game 10 times this year.

THE 1000/400 CLUB
Last Wednesday, Chance became the 4th player in IUP history to score 1000 points and dish out 400 assists for his career. He comes into this weekend 25th in program history with 1052 points and tied for 2nd with 450 assists. He's joined in the club by Ashton Smith (1635, 456), Eddie Peterson (1621, 425) and Yancey Taylor (1257, 406). 

HE'S BACK!
Jr. G Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown) started his first game in 11 days against SRU, finishing with 20 points on 8-13 shooting in 36 minutes. Norfleet missed the game at Mercyhurst and came off the bench at Edinboro, but averaged just 4.3 ppg in his three games prior to Wednesday night. Norfleet is 3rd on the team at 12.0 ppg and shoots 51.3 pct from the floor and 90.4 pct from the line. 

SECOND HALF SURGE
IUP's scoring average bumps up to 38.5 points in the second half of games, slightly better than the 34.8 in the opening half. Opponents' scoring also increases in the final 20 minutes, moving up from 27.7 to 32.5 points. 

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Crimson Hawks are at their best when the defense performs well as they are 9-1 when holding opponents under 60 points and 18-3 when opponents score under 70 points in a game. IUP has allowed more than 61 points just once in the last six games - 79 to Edinboro last Saturday. The Crimson Hawks are currently 2nd in the PSAC and 7th in Division II with 61.5 points given up per game. 

SCOUTING PITT-JOHNSTOWN
This is a must-win game for the Mountain Cats, who enter the weekend in a three-way battle for the final two available spots for the PSAC tournament. UPJ and California are both 9-11 in league play, while Edinboro sits just 1/2 game ahead of both with a 10-11 conference record. The Mountain Cats could rely on the 3-point shooting of So. F A.J. Leahey, the PSAC leader with a 52.7 3FG%. As a team they lead the conference with a 42.0 long range pct, making 182 on the year. Sr. F Ian Vescovi, a career 1000-point scorer, adds a presence down low with 11.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg.