INDIANA, Pa. – Junior forward Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) led all IUP scorers with 19 points as the sixth-ranked Crimson Hawks held off a late Lock Haven rally in a 90-83 victory at the Memorial Field House Saturday.
 
Diaz shot 7-of-10 from the field and went 3-of-3 from the foul line, and grabbed seven rebounds as IUP opened conference play with a win and improved to 2-3 overall.
 
Diaz was one of five IUP players to reach double-figures in scoring, with three starters and two bench players scoring at least 10 points. Three more players scored at least six points as all eight who saw action contributed in the scoring column.
 
The Crimson Hawks used an early 9-2 run to get their lead to double-figures at 22-10 before the midway point of the opening half. They kept that sizeable lead for the rest of the first, going up by as many as 17 points before taking a 43-30 advantage into the locker room.
 
That lead quickly improved to 20 points early in the second as IUP forced Lock Haven into a pair of turnovers and scored on its first three possessions, with Diaz having a hand in every score.
 
The lead remained in the 20's throughout most of the second half as IUP seemed to be cruising to a huge victory.
 
Lock Haven wasn't going to lie down that easily, getting back into the game with a 9-0 run to cut its deficit to 81-70 with 4:50 to play. After a bucket by sophomore Malik Miller stopped the Bald Eagles run, they reeled off another nine straight points to make it an 83-79 game with 2:03 to play.
 
Senior Ayron Hutton made a pair of big free throws with 1:34 to play and Diaz converted down low two possessions later to give IUP a six-point lead with 29 seconds left. After a Lock Haven turnover on its next possession, Hutton again converted a pair at the line to ice the game with 16 seconds to play.
 
Joining Diaz in the scoring column was senior forward Willem Brandwijk, who went for 15 points and eight rebounds. Graduate forward Blake Danielak (Georgetown, Tex./Liberty Hill) scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench, while senior guard Anthony Glover, Jr. (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) added 11 points and Miller had 10.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks look for the perfect weekend when they host Bloomsburg (2-1, 0-1) Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Follow
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