INDIANA, Pa. – Trailing by seven at the break, the third-ranked Crimson Hawks outscored Le Moyne 37-18 in the second half for an important comeback 60-48 victory over the visiting Dolphins Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
IUP shot 52 percent from the field and went 7-of-8 from the foul line in the second half to key the comeback and remain undefeated on the year at 6-0.
 
The offensive catalyst for the Crimson Hawks was senior guard Dante Lombardi, who fought through foul trouble to score 13 of his 15 points in the second half. He made all three of his 3-pointers during that time, knocking down a pair on back-to-back possessions with less than four minutes to play to give IUP a 54-46 lead.
 
Those triples were part of a 10-2 run for the Crimson Hawks as they turned a four-point lead with 4:29 to go into a 58-46 lead with under two minutes to play.
 
Lombardi was one of four Crimson Hawks to score in double-figures. Senior forward Willem Brandwijk had 13 points in 24 minutes after fouling out and junior guard Malik Miller added 14 points. Senior forward Jacobo Diaz posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the full 40 minutes.
 
The defense also went on lockdown in the final 20 minutes, forcing Le Moyne into 10 turnovers and just 4-of-20 shooting. The hot-shooting Dolphins, who made six 3-pointers in the first half, went just 1-for-10 in the second half.  
 
Le Moyne (4-2, 2-1 NE10) led by as many as eight points in the first half but struggled down the stretch to go into the half with a 30-23 lead. The Crimson Hawks also started out strong but cooled off, shooting 32 percent from the floor and 2-of-5 from the foul line before the halftime horn.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks are ranked No. 3 in the NABC Top 25 and No. 3 in the D2SIDA Top 25 … Le Moyne is one of two 2018 NCAA Division II Elite Eight teams on IUP's schedule, winning the East Region a year ago … The Dolphins are coached by Michigan coach John Beilein's son, Patrick … Diaz's double-double is his third of the season and the 32nd of his career … Le Moyne came into the game averaging 84.2 points per game and tonight's 48 points is its lowest output since scoring 47 in a win over Gannon on Nov. 28, 2014 … IUP head coach Joe Lombardi improved to 281-78 in his 13-year career.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks open up Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play next weekend with their first road games, squaring off against Kutztown (3-2) Saturday and Millersville (3-2) Sunday. Tipoff for both games is 3 p.m. Kutztown entered this week ranked No. 22 in the D2SIDA Top 25 poll.
 
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