FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The NCAA tournament run ended for IUP men's basketball on Sunday night, as the Crimson Hawks fell to top-seed Fairmont State 84-68 in the Atlantic Region semifinals at Joe Retton Arena.
 
IUP, the fourth seed in the region, wrapped up another Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division championship season with a 28-4 overall record. The Crimson Hawks set a program record for regular season wins (26), and their four losses are the second fewest (three, 2010) in a season.
 
Fairmont (31-2) advances to Tuesday's regional championship game against six-seed Wheeling Jesuit (25-7).
 
IUP outshot the offensive-minded Falcons 42 percent to 40 percent, forcing Fairmont State to shoot just 9-of-32 from three-point range. However, FSU held a plus-10 rebounding edge, and went 23-of-28 from the foul line compared to IUP's 8-of-14 performance.
 
The Crimson Hawks rebounded from a slow start and used an 11-4 run cut Fairmont's lead to 20-18 with 6:12 left in the first. FSU responded with a quick 10-0 run before taking an 11-point lead into halftime.
 
Both teams matched each other shot-for-shot to start the second, but IUP chipped away at the FSU lead to make it a four-point game at 52-48 with just over 10 minutes left in the game. After a three-pointer by Miller, the Falcons responded with a 12-3 run to widen the gap, and kept their advantage in double-figures the rest of the night.
 
Individual leaders
The Crimson Hawks had four players reach double-figures in scoring, led by sophomore forward Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) with 17. He just missed his 15th double-double of the year with nine rebounds, adding four assists, a steal and a block in 39 minutes of action. Diaz finished 8-of-11 from the field.
 
Freshman guard Malik Miller (Farrell, Pa./Farrell) added a spark off the bench with a season-high 15 points in 26 minutes, going 6-of-8 from the floor, including three three-pointers.
 
Junior guard Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) scored 12 points and senior guard Brandon Spain (Baltimore, Md./Glen Burnie) added 11 off the bench.
 
Departing seniors
Forward Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Gateway) finishes his IUP career as the program's all-time leader in blocked shots (207) and games played (134). His 557 rebounds are 15th most in school history.
 
Despite playing just two seasons after transferring to IUP in 2015, Spain is ninth all-time in program history with 119 steals.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.