INDIANA, Pa. – Junior guard
Malik Miller scored a career-high 24 points to help lead the 8th-ranked IUP men's basketball team to an exciting 69-67 win over 16th-ranked Virginia State Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
Miller shot 7-of-10 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and went 8-of-9 from the foul line as the Crimson Hawks improved to 2-0 after the IRMC/Hilton Garden Inn Classic. Miller also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists in 31 minutes.
IUP had to rally from an early second half seven-point deficit to earn the win. Trailing 43-36 less than three minutes into the second half, the Crimson Hawks reeled off a 17-2 run to go on top 53-45 heading into the under-12 media timeout.
Virginia State (0-2) brought it back to within one at 54-53 just a few minutes later and kept the game close down the stretch.
After senior forward
Willem Brandwijk split a pair of tries from the foul line with 1:22 left, VSU's Andrew Corum knocked down a 3-pointer as the Trojans trailed 67-65.
Brandwijk went back to the line on the ensuing possession, this time knocking down both to give IUP a four-point lead.
With IUP leading 69-67 heading into the final Virginia State possession, Brandwijk made possibly the biggest play of the game, forcing a steal with one second left to play to seal the victory.
Notes
Junior forward
Jacobo Diaz added 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, his second straight 20-point performance to open the season … Brandwijk finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals … This was IUP's first regular season over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 8 Kutztown 77-76 on Dec. 4, 2016 … IUP outrebounded the Trojans 37-29, including 14 offensive boards … There were a combined 39 turnovers in Saturday's game – 20 from Virginia State and 19 from IUP … The Crimson Hawks went 20-of-29 from the foul line, Virginia State 12-of-14.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks will host Bowie State (0-2) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs lost to Charleston (89-75) and Glenville State (118-111) at the PSAC/MEC Challenge this weekend.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
