ERIE, Pa. – Shawn Dyer (Marion, Ohio/Marion Harding) scored a game-high 20 points and the Crimson Hawks shot a blistering 69 percent in the second half as third-seeded IUP defeated East Stroudsburg 76-60 in the semifinals of the 2015 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships on Saturday in Erie.
 
IUP moves on to the PSAC Championship game on Sunday and will face the winner of the Gannon/Kutztown matchup this afternoon. This will be the 13th appearance in the conference championship game, and fourth in the last six years.
 
The Crimson Hawks shot less than 35 percent in the first half as East Stroudsburg grabbed a 33-26 halftime lead. Dyer managed just one point in that first half, with IUP shooting 9-of-26 from the floor. The Warriors shot 48 percent – 12-of-25 – in the first half, and drained five three-pointers.
 
IUP's hot second half started right away as the Crimson Hawks came out of the gate with an 11-0 run to take a 37-33 lead. Dyer was responsible for the first six points, getting a fastbreak layup-and-one to start things off, followed by a three-pointer on the next possession.
 
ESU came back to tie things up at 41-41, but IUP's hot shooting continued as the Crimson Hawks used an 11-4 run to take a 52-45 lead as the second half approached its midway point.
 
The closest the Warriors would get the rest of the afternoon was three points at 52-49, before IUP took the game over. Another three-pointer from Dyer came at the end of a 14-5 run for the Crimson Hawks, which gave them a 66-54 lead with under five minutes to play.
 
From there, ESU was forced to foul IUP as the Crimson Hawks opened up their lead to as many as 18 points in the closing minutes en route to the 16-point victory.
 
Dyer did most of his damage from the foul line, going 10-of-13. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and had two steals in 32 minutes.
 
Chance tallied his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 assists to go along with six assists in 38 minutes. Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown) also reached double-figures with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding five rebounds.
 
The Crimson Hawks outrebounded ESU 37-to-24, grabbed 10 rebounds on the offensive end. Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) had three of those on offense and totaled eight boards in 24 minutes.
 
This was IUP head coach Joe Lombardi's 199th career win as he's now 13-4 all-time in PSAC tournament games. He's guided the Crimson Hawks to three conference titles during his nine-plus seasons at IUP, taking home the crown in 2010, 2011 and 2013. IUP has never lost a PSAC championship game with Lombardi at the helm.
 
IUP is 8-4 all-time in conference championship games, including 6-0 since 2000. IUP will be looking for its 10th overall PSAC title on Sunday.
 
Tipoff at the Hammermill Center in Erie will come at 3:40 p.m. PCN-TV will carry the live broadcast. 

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