GameDay Central 
No. 3 IUP Crimson Hawks (23-5, 17-5 PSAC) 
vs. No. 6 Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats (12-14, 9-13 PSAC) 
Saturday, February 28, 2015 | 7:00 p.m. 
Kovalchick Complex | Indiana, Pa.  

IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: IUPAthletics.com | Fan Stats | Media Stats
Live Audio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Live Video: IUP-TV | BackLightTV.com

AT A GLANCE
The 24th-ranked Crimson Hawks welcome Pitt-Johnstown to the KCAC on Saturday for the first round of the 2015 PSAC Men's Basketball Championships. IUP enters the postseason on a three-game win streak and is coming off of a blowout 35-point win over Clarion on Senior Night. Pitt-Johnstown enters the tournament with four straight losses, including a 13-point defeat to the Crimson Hawks last Saturday. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE
IUP earned the third seed in the PSAC West with a 17-5 league record, tying Mercyhurst for second place and finishing one game behind division-winner Gannon. UPJ was awarded the sixth seed after winning a tie-breaker with Cal as the two tied with 9-13 PSAC records. 

THE WEST BRACKET
Gannon earned the top seed in the West while Mercyhurst is second and will join the Golden Knights with a first round bye. Slippery Rock and Edinboro will face off in the other first round matchup as the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively. 

IUP IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
This is IUP's 28th all-time PSAC tournament appearance, including its 8th straight under HC Joe Lombardi. IUP is 10-4 in the conference tournament since 2008, with PSAC titles in 2010, 2011 and 2013. IUP is third all-time in conference history with nine PSAC championships, also winning it in 1960, 1974, 1995, 2000, 2002 and 2004. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Crimson Hawks ended the regular season with a huge 101-66 win over Clarion on Senior Night. Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) scored a career-high 31 points and broke the school's career assist record in the win. It was the first time since 2008 that IUP scored more than 100 points in a game. 

WHAT'S NEXT
If the Crimson Hawks win on Saturday, they'll travel to Erie to face second-seeded Mercyhurst in the quarterfinals of the PSAC tournament. Tipoff will be at 7 pm next Tuesday, March 3. 

HOME COOKING
The Crimson Hawks are a combined 53-6 all-time in games played in the Kovalchick Complex, with an average attendance of 1,624. This year IUP is 13-1 with an average margin of victory of +15.9 in games played in the KCAC.

NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
IUP moved up to No. 2 in Wednesday's release of the NCAA Division II regional rankings. These rankings determine the eight teams from each region that make the field of 64. New rankings will come out each week with the bracket announcement coming on Sunday night, March 8. 

Atlantic Region Rankings
1. West Liberty
2. IUP
3. Gannon          
4. Mercyhurst    
5. Bowie State
6. Fairmont State  
7. Slippery Rock 
8. Concord

IUP IN THE POLLS
The Crimson Hawks returned to the rankings this week, showing up at No. 24 in the NABC coaches' top 25 poll. IUP fell out last week for the first time since the 2012-13 preseason with its back-to-back losses to Mercyhurst and Edinboro. 

THE ASSIST KING
Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) became IUP's all-time assist leader with 6 dimes against Clarion, moving past former teammate Ashton Smith (2008-12) and his 456 career assists. Chance heads into the postseason with 460, including 165 this season.  

THE 1000/400 CLUB
Chance is one of four players in IUP history to score 1000 points and dish out 400 assists for his career. In addition to being IUP's all-time assist leader, he's 21st in school history with 1104 points. He's joined in the club by Smith (1635, 456), Eddie Peterson (1621, 425) and Yancey Taylor (1257, 406). 

WHO'S YOUR DADDY
Jr. F Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) averaged 18.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg in his two games vs. UPJ this year, including his first career double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) on Feb. 21. He's made 70.7 pct (29-41) of his field goal attempts in his last six games. 

THE CO-CAPTAIN
Sr. F Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C./Greenfield School) has scored in double-figures three times in the last four games, avearging 11.5 ppg over that span. He's scored 28 points in two games against UPJ, including a career-high 18 on Jan. 21. 

STREAKING
Jeffers has hit at least 1 3-pointer in 19 straight games, a streak that dates back to Dec. 16 against Mansfield. He's 3rd on the team with a 40.0 3FG% and is 3rd with 44 made 3's on the year. 

BLOCK PARTY
After just 2 blocks over a six-game stretch, R-Jr. F Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) has 8 in the last three games, including 5 in 30 minutes against Slippery Rock on Feb. 18. He has 5 blocks in a game twice this year - both against SRU - and is 5th in the PSAC with 49 blocks. 

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 20-3 when opponents score less than 70 points in a game. UPJ has scored 73 and 65 points against the Crimson Hawks in the two matchups this season. 

SCOUTING PITT-JOHNSTOWN
The Mountain Cats are the most dangerous three-point shooting team in the PSAC, connecting on 41.7 pct of their 468 attempts this season. They're led by So. F A.J. Leahey, who's tops in the league with a 51.7 3FG% and 2.9 made 3's per game. He's also UPJ's leading scorer with 14.1 ppg and is 2nd on the team with 7.1 rpg. Sr. F Ian Vescovi provides the post presence as the career 1000-point scorer averages 12.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg and has 50 blocks on the year. 

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