INDIANA, Pa. – Second-ranked IUP men's basketball rallied from 16 points down with 5:16 to play, but couldn't finish its comeback, dropping an overtime decision to Shippensburg 90-87 in the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships.
 
The loss was the first for the Crimson Hawks since the middle of December, as they saw their 18-game win streak come to an end. They'll head into the NCAA Division II tournament with a 27-3 overall record, ranking second in the Atlantic Regional rankings at the beginning of the week.
 
IUP could finish up ranked anywhere from second to fifth in the region.
 
Shippensburg (25-3) advances to its second PSAC championship game in program history, with its only conference title coming in 1991. The Raiders will play Kutztown (26-2), which defeated Gannon 91-85 in overtime of the day's first semifinal game. Tipoff for the PSAC Championship will be at 3 p.m. from IUP's Kovalchick Complex.
 
IUP's resilience, Shippensburg turnovers send game to OT
IUP trailed 77-68 with 1:07 to play, but a three-pointer by junior Blake Danielak (Georgetown, Tex./Liberty Hill) with 50 seconds left sparked one final push from the Crimson Hawks. After a Shippensburg turnover and foul, Danielak made two from the foul line to bring the deficit down to four.
 
The teams traded free throws and the Raiders turned the ball over again, as sophomore Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) made it a two-point game at 78-76 with 19 seconds to play.
 
Two more Shippensburg turnovers in a six-second span gave IUP the ball with 2.6 to play, as Diaz sunk two more from the line to send the game to overtime.
 
Raiders outlast IUP in the last five minutes
After trading baskets early in the extra time, Shippensburg took an 87-83 lead with 1:39 to play. Again, IUP came back, tying the score at 87-87 with a tip-in from Danielak.
 
Shippensburg nearly turned the ball over on its next possession, but a foul call on IUP put the Raiders at the line, converting both to take a two-point lead with 25 seconds left.
 
IUP turned the ball over on its next possession, but Shippensburg made just one from the foul line to give the Crimson Hawks one final chance. But a pair of three-point attempts bounced off the rim, and Shippensburg came away with the win.
 
Three Crimson Hawks scored 20 points
Junior guard Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) finished with a team-high 23 points, going 8-of-19 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line. He nearly notched a double-double with nine rebounds, adding four assists in 42 minutes.
 
Diaz posted his 13th double-double of the year with 22 points and 10 boards. The PSAC West Athlete of the year went 5-of-7 from the field and was clutch at the foul line, draining 11-of-12 shots. He had three steals and two assists in 44 minutes.
 
Danielak tied his career-high with 21 points in 29 minutes off the bench. He went 7-of-13 from the field, made three treys, and went 4-of-4 from the foul line.
 
Raiders' shooting made the difference
IUP forced Shippensburg into 21 turnovers, but shot just 37.0 percent from the floor. The Raiders countered their turnovers by shooting 54.4 percent, making nearly 60 percent of their second half shots. They also went 10-of-21 from beyond the arc.
 
Up next
The NCAA Division II Selection Show will air live at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5. You can stream it live on NCAA.com (direct link).
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.