INDIANA, Pa. – Sophomore Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in No. 17 IUP's 82-69 win over Mansfield in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play on Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.

With the win the Crimson Hawks improve to 9-1 overall and 4-1 in PSAC play. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers fall to 4-4 overall behind a 2-3 mark in conference action.

Diaz recorded his fifth double-double of the season and the second in his last three games. He finished the game shooting 7-of-10 from the floor including 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and added three steals, three assists, and one block in 31 minutes. Sophomore Dante Lombardi (Indiana, Pa./The Kiski School) added 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting (4-of-8 from beyond the arc) to go along with three assists. Junior Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He added three assists and one rebound. Redshirt junior Blake Danielak (Georgetown, Tex./Liberty Hill) tallied eight points.

IUP took an early 5-2 lead on a three-pointer from Diaz at the 17:35-mark before Mansfield answered with a quick 6-0 run to take an 8-5 lead with just over 16 minutes left in the half. The two teams traded baskets until the Crimson Hawks pushed their lead to 22-14 on three-pointers from Glover and Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry) midway through the half.
The Mountaineers cut the lead to 24-22 on a layup from Matt Tamanosky at the 7:58-mark. IUP took a 33-24 lead with just over five minutes before halftime on a layup from Diaz before Mansfield cut the lead down to 33-31 at the 2:58-mark. The Crimson Hawks then took a 38-34 halftime lead.

In the second half IUP took a 49-36 lead on a three-pointer from Lombardi at the 16:36-mark. Over the next several minutes the Crimson Hawks methodically stretched the lead to 59-41 on a layup from Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) at the 12:13-mark. Mansfield chipped away at the lead as a three-pointer from Andreas Katopodis pulled the Mountaineers to within 13 at 61-48 midway through the half.

A pair of free-throws from Diaz gave the Crimson Hawks their largest lead of the game at 19 (67-48) with 8:29 to play. Four minutes later Mansfield cut the lead to 72-62 after Cedrick Powell converted a three-point play at the 4:24-mark. Just over a minute later the Mountaineers came within six at 72-66 on a layup from Tamanosky. IUP then closed the game and sealed the win with a 10-3 run over the final 3:04.

The Crimson Hawks shot at a 50.0 percent (28-of-56) clip including 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from beyond the arc. IUP also made 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. The Mountaineers held a slim 28-27 rebounding margin while the Crimson Hawks outscored the Mansfield bench by a 20-6 margin.
Mansfield was led by Malik Carter who scored 20 points as well as Tamanosky, added 17 points.

Up Next
IUP steps out of PSAC play when it hosts fourth-ranked Fairmont State on Monday, December 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.