INDIANA, Pa. – Despite 21 points from
Anthony Glover, Jr. (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) and another double-double by
Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria), IUP men's basketball fell to Pitt-Johnstown 65-63 at the Kovalchick Complex Thursday night.
The Mountain Cats grabbed the two-point lead with 3.7 seconds left as Drew Magestro knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing. The Crimson Hawks had a final chance to tie or take the lead, but a shot by
Dante Lombardi (Indiana, Pa./The Kiski School) didn't make it off his hand in time as Pitt-Johnstown claimed the upset win.
It was the first loss for the Crimson Hawks in nearly a month, ending a seven-game win streak. IUP is now 18-6 overall and still atop the Western Division standings with a 14-3 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
The loss was also the first to a PSAC West opponent at home for the Crimson Hawks since December 2014, a streak of 31 straight home wins over division rivals.
It was a tight game throughout, with seven ties and 11 lead changes. With the scored knotted at 53-53 with 7:10 to play, Glover drilled a 3-pointer as the Crimson Hawks grabbed the lead. They held onto that advantage, going up by as many as seven points, until UPJ knocked down the game-winner.
Glover hit five 3-pointers on his way to those 21 points, his 13th 20-point game of the year. Diaz finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds to post his 11th double-double of the year and his third in the last six games.
Willem Brandwijk (Voorburg, The Netherlands/Holderness School (NH)) nearly added another double-double performance, finishing with eight points and nine boards to go along with three blocked shots.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks head to Erie to square off against Gannon (15-8, 11-6 PSAC) next Monday in a rescheduled game from December. It's the first of two road games in three days for IUP, including a matchup at Clarion (3-20, 0-17 PSAC) Wednesday.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
