2015 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championships - Semifinals
No. 3 IUP Crimson Hawks (27-6, 17-5 PSAC)
vs. No. 7 Slippery Rock (21-10, 14-8 PSAC)
Sunday, March 15, 2015 | 5:00 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 face off against PSAC West rival Slippery Rock in the semifinals of the 2015 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Atlantic Region Championships on Sunday evening. Third seed IUP is 27-6 on the year while familiar foe SRU has a 21-10 overall record and entered the NCAA tournament as the seventh seed in the Atlantic Region. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE
IUP easily handled sixth-seeded Glenville State 73-53 in the opening round of the Atlantic Regional on Saturday. Slippery Rock followed with an upset of PSAC tournament champion Gannon 65-57 in the first session's other first round matchup. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Crimson Hawks limited the MEC tournament champion Pioneers to 8-30 shooting from 3-point range in a 73-53 victory on Saturday. Five players reached double-figures in scoring for IUP, led by Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter), who had 22 points and 5 assists. Jr. F Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) tallied a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds on the afternoon. 

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 25-13 all-time in NCAA postseason games. 

HOME SWEET...HOME?
This is 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 has 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 - 5 appearances | 12-1
IUP - 5 appearances | 8-3
Fairmont St. - 3 appearances | 2-2
Slippery Rock - 3 appearances | 2-2
Livingstone - 2 appearances | 0-2

THE SLIPPERY ROCK MATCHUP
This will be the ninth meeting between these two teams in the last three years, with four of those coming in the postseason. IUP is 6-2 in those previous eight meetings, including wins in the PSAC title game and regional semifinals in 2013. The teams split this years regular season. 

LOMBARDI vs. REYNOLDS
HC Joe Lombardi is 14-4 all-time in games against SRU HC Kevin Reynolds, including a 3-1 mark in postseason games. Lombardi is 1-0 against SRU in the NCAA tournament with a 53-50 win the semifinals in 2013. 

ALL THINGS NEUTRAL
The Crimson Hawks have played two neutral site games this year - their 76-60 victory over East Stroudsburg in the PSAC semifinals in Erie and Saturday's 73-53 win over Glenville State. 

NCAAs UNDER LOMBARDI
This is Lombardi's seventh NCAA tournament appearance at IUP, leading the Crimson Hawks to a 12-6 record with an Atlantic Regional title and national title appearance in 2010. He's 3-2 in regional semifinal games with a margin of victory of +4.8. 

TWO HUNDRED
Lombardi hit the 200-win plateau on Saturday with the victory over Glenville State. He's the fastest IUP coach to reach the milestone, joining Gary Edwards (206 wins) and Peck McKnight (201) and is the second fastest PSAC coach, behind Millersville's John Kochan (1984-96), to hit 200 career victories. 

THE AWARD WINNER
Sr. G Devante Chance (Philadelphia, Pa. /Electrical & Technology Charter) was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and is a 1st team All-Atlantic Region pick. The co-captain is 4th in the league with 16.5 ppg and 17th in Division II at 5.8 apg. He has four double-doubles and is 10th in Division II with 37.7 mpg. Chance's 191 assists are 5 shy of tying a single season school record.  

ON A (POSTSEASON) ROLL
Chance is hitting a stride during IUP's postseason games, averaging 18.6 ppg, 5.2 apg and 4.2 rpg in the Crimson Hawks' five PSAC & NCAA tournament games. He has back-to-back 22-point games and had 15 points and 10 assists against ESU in the conference semifinals. 

DYER'S POSTSEASON SUCCESS
Gr. G Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding), a 2nd team All-PSAC West pick, has a 24-4 career record in postseason games, including his three years at West Liberty. He's averaging 16.0 ppg in those games, including 18.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg and a 45.9 FG% in IUP's five PSAC & NCAA tournament games this year. 

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 12-1 when holding opponents under 60 points and 24-4 when opponents score less than 70 points in a game. Slippery Rock scored 75 (win) and 61 (loss) points against the Crimson Hawks this season and ranks 11th in the PSAC with 71.7 ppg.  

SCOUTING SLIPPERY ROCK
Slippery Rock remains the best rebounding team in the PSAC and is 2nd best in Division II with a +11.5 margin on the glass this year. SRU has owned the advantage on the boards in all but six games this season, with all five probable starters averaging more than 4.0 per game. The achilles heel for SRU has been shooting, ranking 17th in the PSAC with a 39.9 FG% on the year. R-Sr. G Antonio Butler has been SRU's main threat all season long, earning 1st team All-PSAC West honors and averaging 15.9 ppg and 6.0 rpg. R-Sr. F Frank Holloway scored 17 points against Gannon in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament and has 18 double-figure scoring games this season.