INDIANA, Pa. – Redshirt freshman Armoni Foster scored a career-high 24 points in a breakout performance as he helped lead the No. 3 Crimson Hawks to an 80-75 win over West Chester Tuesday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Foster scored 19 of his points in the second half alone as IUP held off the upset-minded Golden Rams down the stretch.
 
He shot 6-of-9 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and did most of his damage at the foul line with a 10-of-12 performance. Foster also dished out three assists and had just two turnovers in 36 minutes off the bench.
 
Senior forward Jacobo Diaz also had a night with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double, and sixth of the season. He was 9-of-19 from the field with three 3-pointers and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
 
The two helped the Crimson Hawks remain undefeated at 11-0 and 4-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
 
IUP controlled the game early, building a 23-12 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the opening half after one of Diaz's two first half 3-pointers.
 
The Crimson Hawks went cold from the field as West Chester (6-5, 2-2 PSAC) clawed back and cut its deficit to three points with a 10-2 run. WCU used key buckets the rest of the half to keep the IUP lead at 34-33 at the break.
 
The Golden Rams took the lead in the second half on the strength of their rebounding and ability to get to the line. They grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first 92 seconds and had 10 at the midway point of the half. WCU also converted a pair of traditional three-point plays to grab a 45-42 lead.
 
Foster kept the Crimson Hawks in the game with several big plays, including converting three foul shots after being fouled while shooting a trey. He also later made a 3-pointer and short jumper on back-to-back possessions.
 
Trailing 50-47, the Crimson Hawks knocked down three straight 3-pointers by Dante Lombardi, Diaz and Foster to jump on top by six.
 
West Chester kept things close by converting foul shots, as the Golden Rams went through a dry spell where they made eight free throws and not a single field goal over a span of 6:54.
 
With IUP on top 69-66 with just over two minutes to play, Diaz converted two straight layups to extend the lead to seven points a minute later. It became a foul shot game from there on out, as Foster, Diaz and Lombardi went a combined 7-of-8 in the final moments to ice the win.
 
Lombardi joined Diaz and Foster in double-figures with 16 points.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks are No. 3 in the NABC and D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … IUP head coach Joe Lombardi improved to 9-5 against West Chester, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Golden Rams … A combined 47 fouls were called with the teams totaling 46 made foul shots … IUP made a season-best 24 foul shots on 30 attempts … West Chester finished with a 46-to-35 advantage on the glass, including 23 offensive rebounds … IUP limited WCU to 32 percent shooting and just 5-of-28 from 3-point range.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks are off for the NCAA's mandatory winter break and return to action Wednesday, January 2 at home against Gannon (3-7, 1-3 PSAC). Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Follow
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