KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Senior guard Dante Lombardi scored nine of his game-high 26 points in overtime to lead the No. 3 IUP men's basketball team to a 96-87 victory at Kutztown Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena.
 
With the Crimson Hawks trailing 81-79 with three minutes to go in the overtime period, Lombardi knocked down a 3-pointer to put his team on top. He drained another from long range a minute later, and then forced two straight turnovers and made three free throws to give IUP an 88-81 with 1:02 left.
 
The closest Kutztown would get in the final minute would be 90-83 as Malik Miller and Marko Krivacevic converted their chances at the foul line and the Crimson Hawks remain undefeated at 7-0.
 
Lombardi's 26 points is a season-high, finishing 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-7 from the foul line. He went 6-of-9 from 3-point range, tying his career-best for treys in a game.
 
He was one of three Crimson Hawks with 20-point performances on the afternoon. Senior forward Jacobo Diaz scored 22 points and Miller, a junior guard, finished with 20 points. They helped the Crimson Hawks drain a season-high 13 3-pointers.
 
Lombardi and several other Crimson Hawks had to fight through foul trouble late in regulation and into overtime.
 
Diaz fouled out with 1:08 to play in the second half with IUP up 79-74. Although the Golden Bears couldn't convert the following 1-and-1, they did get a turnover and three-point play to close to within two points with 45 seconds left.
 
Kutztown (4-3, 0-1 PSAC) had a look at a game-winning 3-pointer but settled for an offensive rebound and tip-in as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime.
 
Four other Crimson Hawks almost joined Diaz with an early exit as Lombardi, Krivacevic, senior forward Willem Brandwijk, and freshman guard Armoni Foster all finished with four personal fouls.
 
Foster and Krivacevic gave IUP five players in double-figures as they scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Crimson Hawks looked for a big win as they got out to a 12-point lead at 23-11 before the second media timeout. That lead evaporated with 12 straight points by Kutztown, but IUP still took a 43-40 lead into the break.
 
The Golden Bears started the second half hot, but IUP came right back with a 12-2 run to take a 57-53 lead with just over 11 minutes to play. The Crimson Hawks built a 79-67 lead with over three minutes to play until Kutztown used another 12-0 run to tie the game and send it to overtime.
 
Notes
IUP is No. 3 in both the NABC and D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls entering the weekend … This is IUP's third 7-0 start since the 2013-14 season … The 96 points is a season-high for the Crimson Hawks … This is the first overtime game for the Crimson Hawks this year … They went 1-0 in OT games last year and 0-2 during the 2016-17 season … IUP forced the Golden Bears into 21 turnovers and scored 27 points off those turnovers … Kutztown had a 43-34 advantage on the glass including 17 offensive rebounds, but managed just 11 second chance points … The IUP defense limited Kutztown to just 5-of-16 shooting from 3-point range.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks close out their PSAC crossover weekend at Millersville (4-3, 1-0 PSAC) Sunday. Tip time is 3 p.m. The Marauders defeated California (Pa.) 84-63 Saturday.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.