INDIANA, Pa. – Senior guard
Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown) scored a game-high 22 points to help lead the IUP men's basketball team to its 10th straight win, a 79-67 victory over rival Gannon on Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
It was Norfleet's sixth straight 20-point performance as the Crimson Hawk pushed their overall record to 16-5. They remain one game up in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with a 13-3 league record.
Norfleet was one of four players to reach double-figures in scoring for the Crimson Hawks, joined by seniors
Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) and
Tevin Hanner (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill) and sophomore
Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit). Ugbede came off the bench to score 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting in 25 minutes, while Hanner and Glover added 11 apiece.
IUP outrebounded Gannon 36-to-27, with a game-high 10 boards coming from freshman
Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria), who also scored seven points. Fellow freshman
Dante Lombardi (Indiana, Pa./The Kiski School) finished with eight points while dishing out six assists.
The Crimson Hawks shot 50.7 percent from the field and forced Gannon into 15 turnovers. Junior
Brandon Spain (Baltimore, Md./Glen Burnie) led the defensive charge for IUP, posting his second consecutive five-steal outing while also blocking a shot in 23 minutes.
It was a tight start, with the Golden Knights (4-15, 3-13 PSAC) taking a 10-9 lead before IUP responded with a 17-4 run to go on top 26-14 with 7:24 to play before the half. The Crimson Hawks held a double-figure lead for most of the remainder of the first before taking a 39-30 advantage into the break.
The closest Gannon would get the remainder of the game was seven points early in the second half, with IUP using a 15-7 run to take its biggest lead of the night of 17 points at 69-52 with under eight minutes to play.
A big week looms for the Crimson Hawks as they host second place Mercyhurst (15-5, 12-4 PSAC) on Wednesday and third place Edinboro (12-7, 11-5) on Saturday.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.
