INDIANA, PA – The No. 18 Crimson Hawks went on a late 10-2 run to pull away from Gannon as the IUP men's basketball team defeated the Golden Knights 64-54 in front of an excited crowd at the Kovalchick Complex on Saturday night.
 
With the win, the Crimson Hawks moved into first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with a 14-3 league record, one half-game ahead of Gannon (14-4). IUP improved to 20-3 overall on the year while Gannon falls to 15-8.
 
The key play came during that run by the Crimson Hawks, when Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) picked up a loose offensive rebound as the ball was headed out of bounds and flipped it behind his back to Tevin Hanner (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill), who converted a layup as he was fouled. Hanner made his free throw on the other end of the media timeout, as IUP held a 57-47 lead with 3:08 to go in the game.
 
The Golden Knights tried to get back in it with a three-pointer by Adam Blazek and a pair of free throws by Jean Yves Toupane, which tightened their deficit to seven with 53 seconds to go, but Cornell Yarde II (Reading, Pa. /Schuylkill Valley) and Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) iced the game with free throws down the stretch.
 
Chance led all scorers with 18 points, dishing out seven assists with five rebounds and five steals in 40 minutes. Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) added 15 points for the Crimson Hawks, going 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range.
 
The Crimson Hawks held Blazek, last year's PSAC West Player of the Year, to just six points on 2-of-10 shooting. Toupane led the Golden Knights with 16 points while Girbran Smith added 12.
 
Despite being outrebounded by Gannon 32-to-23, IUP forced the Golden Knights into 25 turnovers, including 17 in the first half alone. Those 25 turnovers tied a season-high for Gannon.
 
The game was tight all the way up until the Crimson Hawks made their run with under five minutes to play in the game. The largest lead of the first half was when Gannon took a 23-18 lead with 5:55 to go before the break. The first 20 minutes featured two ties and nine lead changes, as IUP went into halftime with a 25-23 lead.
 
The season series is now tied with these two schools with IUP having five more conference games while Gannon has four. In case of a tie at the end of the regular season, the first tiebreaker goes to the team with the best divisional record. Both Gannon and IUP have three PSAC West losses, apiece.

At halftime, IUP honored its 1994-95 team, which finished with a 29-2 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four. A group of 12 coaches, players, and support personnel were on hand to receive a warm standing ovation from the crowd. 
 
The Crimson Hawks return to the court on Wednesday as they travel up to Erie to face Mercyhurst. The Lakers picked off IUP at home back in December, winning 65-62. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.