INDIANA, PA – Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) scored a career-high 31 points, highlighting an all-around team effort led by IUP's seniors in the 24th-ranked Crimson Hawks' 101-66 victory over Clarion in the regular season finale on Wednesday at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
More than his 31 points, Chance's biggest stat came in the assist column as he became IUP's all-time assist leader as he heads into his final postseason with 460 for his career. Entering the game just three short of the record, he surpassed former teammate Ashton Smith (2008-12) when he found Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) for a three-pointer at the 9:13 mark of the first half.
 
Chance would go on to dish out six assists on the night and finished 11-of-17 from the floor, making five three-pointers in 33 minutes.
 
Five Crimson Hawks scored in double-figures, including seniors Chance, Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C./Greenfield School) and Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding). The three combined for 54 of IUP's 101 points, the most for the program since scoring 109 against Penn State-Fayette early in the 2008-09 season.
 
The Crimson Hawks were on fire all night long, making 55.4 percent of their shots from the field and 51.4 percent from three-point range. IUP's 19 three-pointers made is the most this season and falls just three short of tying the all-time program record.
 
At one point in the first half, IUP made 14 consecutive shots, including nine straight three-pointers. That helped the Crimson Hawks go on runs of 16-7, 12-0, 10-1 and 10-4. They led by 21 points with over eight minutes to go in the half and went on top by 30 at 50-20 on a free throw by Chance with over two minutes to play. IUP would end up taking a 56-24 lead into the locker room, its largest halftime lead of the season.
 
The Crimson Hawks kept their lead on the plus-side of 30 for nearly all of the second half, as it reached as high as 39 on two occasions late in the game.
 
The 35-point victory is the second largest scoring margin in a win for the Crimson Hawks this season, eclipsed only by their 41-point victory (92-51) over Mansfield back on December 16.
 
Jeffers finished with 12 points, going 4-of-5 from three-point range, to go along with six rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes. Dyer added 11 points, nearly getting a double-double with nine rebounds in addition to dishing out four assists and grabbing three steals.
 
Cornell Yarde II (Reading, Pa. /Schuylkill Valley) came off the bench to net a career-high 14 points in 21 minutes. He went 5-of-8 from the field and hit four of IUP's 19 three's. Also hitting double-figures was Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown), who scored 13 points and dished out eight assists.
 
The Crimson Hawks outrebounded Clarion 42-to-34 and turned the ball over just nine times, 10 below the season average forced by the Golden Eagles.
 
In addition to Chance, Jeffers and Dyer, IUP also celebrated senior Alec Boyer (Burke, Va. /Lake Broddock Secondary), who's finishing his first season with the Crimson Hawks after joining the team this fall.
 
IUP ends the regular season with a 23-5 overall mark and a 17-5 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The Crimson Hawks have locked up the third seed in the Western Division and will host sixth-seeded Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday in the first round of the 2015 PSAC Championships.
 
It's the eighth straight PSAC tournament berth under head coach Joe Lombardi and 27th in program history. The Crimson Hawks are 10-4 under Lombardi in the PSAC tournament with championships in 2010, 2011 and 2013.