2015 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championships - First Round
No. 3 IUP Crimson Hawks (26-6, 17-5 PSAC)
vs. No. 6 Glenville State Pioneers (22-10, 14-8 MEC)
Saturday, March 14, 2015 | 12:00 p.m.
Athletic, Sports & Recreation Complex | West Liberty, W. Va.

IUP Game Notes (PDF)
Live Telecast: IUP-TV
Live Video: IUP-TV & WLU-TV | UStream.tv 
Live Audio: WQMU 92.5 FM | u92radio.com
Live Stats: HilltopperSports.com | Fan Stats | Media Stats | NCAA Stats

AT A GLANCE
The Crimson Hawks open up the 2015 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championships against Mountain East Champion Glenville State on Saturday in the opening round. IUP drew the third seed in the Atlantic Region with a 26-6 overall record while The Pioneers are the sixth seed in the region with a 22-10 mark on the season.  

HOW THEY GOT HERE
IUP lost 69-66 to Gannon in the PSAC championship game on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson Hawks were the third seed in the PSAC West and won three games in the tournament to advance to their 10th conference title game. Glenville State won its first conference title since 1972 with a 65-58 victory over Fairmont State.

LAST TIME OUT
A Gannon three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining lifted the Golden Knights to a 69-66 win over IUP in the PSAC title game. Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) and Gr. G Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) each scored 22 points and went a combined 9-14 from 3-point range. 

IUP IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
This is IUP's 14th NCAA tournament appearance, including seven straight. The program has five Elite Eight appearances (regional championships), three Final Fours and a 2010 national championship game appearance. IUP is 24-13 all-time in NCAA postseason games. 

HOME SWEET...HOME?
This will be the Crimson Hawks' fifth trip to West Liberty in the last six years for the NCAA Atlantic Regional. No other other school, besides host WLU, has as many appearances or had played in as many games at WLU as IUP has. Here are the five schools in this year's regional who have played in one of the previous five WLU-hosted regionals:

West Liberty - 4 appearances | 11-1 record
IUP - 4 appearances | 7-3 record
Fairmont St. - 2 appearances | 1-2 record
Slippery Rock - 2 appearances | 1-2 record
Livingstone - 1 appearances | 0-1 record

THE GLENVILLE STATE MATCHUP
These two schools have not played since the start of the 1993-94 season, with IUP winning 77-69. IUP owns a 3-1 all-time record against the Pioneers, but have never met them in a postseason game. Like opponents include Gannon, Slippery Rock, Urbana and WV Wesleyan - IUP is 4-3 while Glenville State is 4-2 against those teams.

IUP vs. THE MOUNTAIN EAST
The Crimson Hawks are 2-0 against MEC teams this year, defeating Urbana 96-62 and WV Wesleyan 57-41. IUP is 37-15 all-time against current Mountain East schools, with its only losing record coming to WV Wesleyan (5-7). 

ALL THINGS NEUTRAL
The Crimson Hawks have played one neutral site game this year, their 76-60 victory over East Stroudsburg in the PSAC semifinals at Gannon in Erie. 

NCAAs UNDER LOMBARDI
This is Lombardi's seventh NCAA tournament appearance at IUP, leading the Crimson Hawks to an 11-6 record with an Atlantic Regional title and national title appearance in 2010. He's 5-1 in first round matchups with a +4 margin of victory. 

TWO HUNDRED
Lombardi will be going for career win No. 200 today against Glenville State. He would become the fastest IUP coach to reach the mark, joining Gary Edwards (206 wins) and Peck McKnight (201). Lombardi would also be the second fastest PSAC coach, behind Millersville's John Kochan (1984-96). 

PSAC WEST ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year. The co-captain is tied for 4th in the league with 16.3 ppg and 17th in Division II at 5.8 apg. He has four double-doubles and is 10th in Division II with 37.8 mpg. Chance's 186 assists are 10 shy of tying a single season school record.  

THE 1000/400 CLUB
Chance is one of four players in IUP history to score 1000 points and dish out 400 assists for a career. He's the school's all-time leader with 481 assists and is 19th with 1175 points. He's joined in the club by Ashton Smith (1635, 456), Eddie Peterson (1621, 425) and Yancey Taylor (1257, 406). 

DYER'S POSTSEASON SUCCESS
Gr. G Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding), a 2nd team All-PSAC West pick, has a 23-4 career record in postseason games, including his three years at West Liberty. He's averaging 16.2 ppg in those games, including 20.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg and a 53.3 FG% (24-45) in IUP's four PSAC tournament games. 

TELL THE WORLD THAT I'M COMING HOME
Dyer played in 46 home games for West Liberty at the ASRC, averaging 11.3 ppg. Six of those games came in the NCAA tournament, including a 20-point outing against Bowie State in the 2013 first round.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Crimson Hawks are at their best when the defense performs well as they are 11-1 when holding opponents under 60 points and 23-4 when opponents score less than 70 points in a game. Glenville State scored 70 or more points in a game 25 times this year, eclipsing the 100-point plateau against Shepherd and West Liberty. 

SCOUTING GLENVILLE STATE
This is Glenville State's second ever NCAA tournament appearance as the school comes off its first conference title since 1972. The Pioneers are led by Sr. G Donte Morales, the MVP of the MEC Tournament and first team all-conference selection. He averages a team-high 18.4 ppg while his 48.1 3FG% this year currently ranks 3rd in single season school history. Glenville State ranks 7th in scoring in the MEC at 78.7 ppg, netting 80 or more points in 16 of its 32 games. The Pioneers defense is one of the best in the high-scoring MEC, ranking 4th by giving up an average of 74.7 ppg.