CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Sophomore Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) scored a game-high 21 points in leading No. 2 IUP to a 77-72 victory at California (PA) on Saturday evening in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center.

With the win, the Crimson Hawks extend their winning streak to 17 games and finish the regular season at 26-2 and 21-1 in PSAC play. IUP will be the No. 1 seed from the PSAC West in next week's conference tournament and receives a first-round bye. Meanwhile, the Vulcans finish the season at 10-18 overall and 7-15 in league play.

The Crimson Hawks finished the regular season by tying the PSAC regular season wins mark of 26 (California in 1991-92) while recording the program's third undefeated regular season road record (11-0).

Diaz was 8-of-14 from the floor while adding eight rebounds, one assist and one steal in 36 minutes.  Junior Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) added 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting while totaling eight rebounds, four assists and one steal. Redshirt junior Blake Danielak (Georgetown, Tex./Liberty Hill) scored 12 points and added four rebounds. Sophomore Dante Lombardi (Indiana, Pa./The Kiski School) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, eight assists, four steals and three rebounds.

IUP jumped out to an early 7-4 lead after a three-pointer from Diaz at the 17:02-mark of the first half. California answered with a 7-0 run to take an 11-7 lead after a three-pointer from Cordell Smith. A Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) jumper at the 8:34-mark tied the game at 11-11. The game remained a back-and-forth affair as the Vulcans tied the game on multiple occasions before the Crimson Hawks took a slim 30-23 lead into halftime.

IUP quickly pushed its lead to 11 early in the second half on a dunk from Diaz at the 18:36-mark. After California pulled to within eight at 36-28, IUP answered with a 12-2 run to extend the lead to 48-30 at the 15:18-mark. Minutes later a three-pointer from Danielak gave the Crimson Hawks their largest lead of the game (19 points) midway through the second half. The Vulcans responded with a 20-7 run that cut the Crimson Hawk lead to just 60-54 at the 5:32-mark.

An 11-2 IUP run pushed the lead back to 15 (71-56) with under three-minutes to play after Diaz converted a three-point play. The Vulcans then pulled to within three (74-71) before the Crimson Hawks made their free-throws to earn the win.

IUP shot at a 42.6 percent (26-of-61) clip. In comparison, California shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor. The Vulcans held a slim 40-35 rebounding margin.

Luka Andjusic and Robel Teckle led California with 11 points each.

Up Next
The Crimson Hawks open PSAC tournament play on Wednesday, March 1 in the quarterfinals at home against the Mercyhurst/Slippery Rock first-round winner. Tipoff is scheduled 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.