INDIANA, Pa. – Senior forward Jacobo Diaz scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lift the eighth-ranked IUP men's basketball team to a 78-65 win over visiting Bowie State Wednesday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
It was Diaz's second double-double of the year and 30th of his career as the Crimson Hawks remained perfect this season at 3-0.
 
It was a game of runs for both teams, with the Crimson Hawks grabbing the first big lead at 30-16 after scoring 19 of 24 points. Diaz was a big part of that run with nine points, including a big 3-pointer that stretched the IUP lead to 26-16 with 6:32 left in the half.
 
The Crimson Hawks built on their lead and went on top by 17 at 37-20 before Bowie State used a 13-3 run to close its gap to seven at 40-33 heading into halftime.
 
The Bulldogs (0-3) kept the momentum going in the second half and cut their deficit to three at 47-44 on the strength of a powerful performance on the offensive glass. Bowie State outrebounded IUP 42-35 for the game, grabbing 24 offensive rebounds.
 
Even with those 24 offensive rebounds, IUP limited Bowie State to 19 second chance points and a 39.4 field goal percentage.
 
With Bowie State trailing by just six at the midway point of the half, the Crimson Hawks used a mini run to extend their lead to 66-54 with 6:35 left after a layup by junior guard Malik Miller. The Bulldogs did cut it to eight just a few minutes later, but IUP scored 10 of the game's last 15 points to ice the win.
 
Notes
Cobo's 30 double-doubles is the third most amongst active career leaders in Division II … This was IUP's third straight win over Bowie State in the last three regular seasons … Bowie State's starters combined for just 35 points while its bench scored 31 … Senior guard Dante Lombardi finished with 18 points, eight assists with just one turnover, and four steals … Redshirt freshman guard Armoni Foster had season-highs of 11 points and three 3-pointers.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks are back in action with their fourth straight home game Monday against Westminster College. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.