EVANSVILLE, Ind. – No. 6 IUP men's basketball held a 70-63 lead with nine minutes remaining, but a huge run by No. 10 Ferris State the rest of the way ruined the Crimson Hawks effort in an 86-82 loss on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.
Ferris State (2-0) outscored the Crimson Hawks 22-9 over a 7:35 span during the back end of the second half, essentially closing out the game with a free throw with 17 seconds to go.
That free throw gave the Bulldogs a six point lead, as IUP tried to cut that in half with a 3-pointer that missed the mark.
Malik Miller (Farrell, Pa./Farrell) was fouled as he converted a layup with five seconds left, but he missed his free throw attempt and Ferris State iced the game.
The loss was the second of the weekend for the Crimson Hawks, who were participating in the 2017 Small College Basketball (SCB) Hall of Fame Classic with seven other top Division II teams. IUP had clearly the most difficult draw of the weekend, facing No. 20 Findlay and this top-10 Ferris State squad.
The offensive production for IUP stepped up after Friday's loss, as the Crimson Hawks shot 52 percent from the field and made eight 3-pointers. Five players scored in double-figures for IUP, led by senior guard
Anthony Glover, Jr. (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) with 19 points. Glover shot 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, dishing out three assists with three steals.
Miller came off the bench to score 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting in 31 minutes. Forward
Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, guard
Dante Lombardi (Indiana, Pa./The Kiski School) scored 14 points, and forward
Blake Danielak (Georgetown, Tex./Liberty Hill) added 12 points.
The Crimson Hawks outshot Ferris State 59 percent to 46 percent in the opening half, but the Bulldogs took a 47-46 lead into halftime with the help of 10 forced turnovers. IUP cleaned up its play to start the second, using an 11-4 run over the first 3:32 to take a 57-51 lead.
Later, IUP took its largest lead of the afternoon at 63-55 on a dish from Glover to forward
Willem Brandwijk (Voorburg, The Netherlands/Holderness School (NH)) with 12:50 on the clock.
Ferris State began its comeback after a layup by Lombardi with 8:56 to go, draining a 3-pointer on the other end followed by a steal and fastbreak bucket to quickly make it a two-point game.
Miller and Glover each scored 10 points in the second half, but IUP shot 44 percent, including 1-of-8 from three-point range.
Glover named to All-Tournament Team
IUP's top scorer for the weekend, Glover was one of 11 players named to the SCB Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team. Glover averaged 16.5 points 2.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and shot 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from the field. Saint Thomas Aquinas' Justin Reyes (32.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg) was named the Tournament MVP.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks return home to host the IRMC / Hilton Garden Inn Classic next weekend at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex (KCAC). IUP will play Urbana on Friday night and Virginia State on Saturday night, both games with 7:30 p.m. tipoffs.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.
