ERIE, Pa. – Five players scored in double-figures as the No. 16 IUP men's basketball team recorded an 80-69 victory at Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center on Monday night.

With the win, the Crimson Hawks improve to 13-2 overall and 8-1 in PSAC play while defeating Mercyhurst in Erie for the first time since January 11, 2014. Meanwhile, the Lakers fall to 6-7 overall behind a 4-5 mark in conference play.

Sophomore Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds while adding six assists. Redshirt senior Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) led the Crimson Hawks with a game-high 18 points and four rebounds. Juniors Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry) and Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) each scored 11 points while freshman Malik Miller (Farrell, Pa./Farrell) added 10 points.

IUP jumped out to a 12-6 lead at the 14:08-mark on a three-pointer from Diaz. The Crimson Hawks then used a 6-2 run to push the lead to 18-8, forcing the Lakers to call timeout. Mercyhust responded with a 15-6 run over a 5:21 stretch to take a 23-22 lead with 6:28 to play in the first half, highlighted by a Malcolm Walters three-pointer. A layup from Diaz gave IUP a 31-28 lead and capped a 9-5 Crimson Hawks run before IUP took a 37-34 halftime lead.

IUP pushed the lead to 41-37 early in the second half on a pair of free-throws from Cottrell before a H'ian Hale layup tied the game at 41-41 at the 16:25-mark. That layup was the beginning of a 10-5 Lakers run that extended the Mercyhurst lead to 49-46 with 12:48 to play.

The Crimson Hawks answered emphatically as IUP went on a 13-0 run over a nearly four-minute stretch to push the lead to 10 (59-49) midway through the half. IUP was 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc during the run as Glover hit a pair of three's. A free-throw from Hale cut the IUP lead to 67-61 at the 4:33-mark but the Crimson Hawks put the game out of reach with a 9-2 run to push the lead to a game-high 14 (76-62) with 1:57 to play.

Mercyhurst was led by a team-high 18 points from Walters and Lorenzo Collier.

IUP shot at a 55.2 percent (32-of-58) clip compared to 49.1 percent (28-of-57) for Mercyhurst. IUP also held a slim 31-29 rebounding edge while scoring 38 points in the paint.

Up Next
The Crimson Hawks conclude their three-game road trip with a visit to Millersville on Wednesday, January 11 with tip-off set for 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.