INDIANA, Pa. – Senior guard Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, Va. /Landstown) and senior forward Daddy Ugbede (Gardena, Calif./Serra) combined for 48 points to help the explosive Crimson Hawks offense in an 89-71 IUP men's basketball victory over Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
The win was the fifth straight for the Crimson Hawks, who improved to 11-5 overall and are now in a three-way tie for first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with an 8-3 league record.
 
It was IUP's 26th straight win over Slippery Rock at home, a streak that dates back to the 1990-91 season.
 
Norfleet scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, and dished out five assists, in 39 minutes of action. Ugbede came off the bench to score 22 points, converting 9-of-10 from the field, and grabbed five boards in 23 minutes.
 
The duo was joined by junior guard Brandon Spain (Baltimore, Md./Glen Burnie), who scored a season-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
 
The Crimson Hawks shot the lights out on Saturday, making 32-of-55 from the field for a 58.2 percent clip. IUP went 5-of-10 from three-point range and 20-of-29 from the foul line.
 
The game was uncharacteristically high-scoring, as both teams have combined to average 123 points over their last 10 meetings. The highest single game total has been 75 points during that span, while just four times these schools have scored 70 points in a game.
 
It was a close contest through most of the first half, with Slippery Rock (8-8, 3-7) holding a 22-21 lead with just over nine minutes to play before the break. The Crimson Hawks then reeled off a 14-4 run and later finished the half with a 9-4 run to take a 44-32 lead into the locker room.
 
IUP took a double-digit lead early in the second half and didn't look back, leading by as many as 23 points before finishing off the 18-point victory.
 
Slippery Rock leads the PSAC with a +10.0 rebounding margin, but IUP battled on the boards today and The Rock finished with a 30-27 advantage. The Crimson Hawks' defense also forced SRU into 17 turnovers and 3-of-10 shooting from three-point range.
 
The Crimson Hawks hit the road for their next game, heading to Pitt-Johnstown (9-5, 6-4) next Wednesday night.
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.