JOHNSTOWN, PA – Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help the IUP men's basketball team to a 78-65 win over Pitt-Johnstown on this road this Saturday afternoon.
 
It was Ugbede's first career double-double as the Crimson Hawks improved to 22-5 overall and 16-5 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The junior forward went 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line, helping IUP shoot 19-of-21 from the charity stripe on the day.
 
Pitt-Johnstown, still fighting for a spot in the upcoming PSAC tournament, falls to 12-13 overall and 9-12 in the league.
 
Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) scored a team-high 21 points and dished out four assists in the full 40 minutes for the Crimson Hawks. He now has 454 career assists and will head into the final day of the regular season just two shy of tying former teammate Ashton Smith's all-time program mark of 456. Today he broke a second place tie at 450 with Mont Mattocks.
 
IUP started slow, trading the lead with the Mountain Cats a total of 14 times during the opening 20 minutes of play. The Crimson Hawks did hold a six point lead on two separate occasions but UPJ grabbed a lead in the last three minutes of the half and held onto it, taking a 38-35 lead into halftime.
 
The Mountain Cats mainly held onto that lead until six minutes passed in the second half, when a jumper by Chance tied the game at 47-47. The Crimson Hawks slowly built the lead, using a 10-0 run to grab a 61-50 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the game. Ugbede scored five of IUP's points during the run, including a layup and foul shot to cap the 2:08 long run.
 
Later, a layup by Tevin Hanner (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill) capped an 8-2 run and gave the Crimson Hawks their largest lead of the game, a 15-point advantage at 69-54 with 5:19 to go. They'd keep the lead in double-figures the rest of the way, closing things out with a 13-point victory.
 
The win kept the Crimson Hawks alive for one of the top two seeds in the PSAC West for the upcoming conference tournament. IUP will have to win its final regular season game against Clarion at home on Wednesday, and get some help from either California (PA) or Seton Hill, who face division-leader Gannon later today and next week, respectively. The Golden Knights currently have a 16-4 conference record. Mercyhurst, which owns the tiebreaker with IUP, wrapped up league play with a 17-5 record.
 
The Crimson Hawks game with Clarion on Wednesday will be Senior Night, as Chance, Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C./Greenfield School), Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) and Alec Boyer (Burke, Va. /Lake Broddock Secondary) will be honored prior to the 7:30 p.m. scheduled tipoff.