INDIANA, Pa. – Junior guard Malik Miller scored 25 points and senior forward Willem Brandwijk went for 21 to lead third-ranked IUP men's basketball to an 86-73 win over visiting Pitt-Johnstown Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
The win was the Crimson Hawks' 13th straight to open the season as they passed their first divisional test by defeating a team that entered the game right behind them in the standings.
 
This was Miller's second 20-point performance of the week, shooting 11-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in 37 minutes of work.
 
Brandwijk set a career-high with his 21 points, going 10-of-11 from the field and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. He just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and added two steals and a block in 35 minutes.
 
Those two carried the load for the Crimson Hawks (13-0, 6-0 PSAC) in the first half, each scoring 14 points.
 
IUP had a hot start and took a 17-8 lead at the 13-minute mark after an inside bucket by Miller. Pitt-Johnstown (9-4, 4-2 PSAC) scored the next seven points to close the gap to two and kept it there before the Crimson Hawks exploded for 13 straight points in less than four minutes.
 
The run was started by a Brandwijk bucket and was keyed by Miller, who had seven points and a steal to help put IUP on top 30-17 with 5:19 to play in the half. The lead extended to 15 at the break when senior guard Dante Lombardi drained a 25-footer right before the buzzer.
 
IUP took that momentum to the second half, making four straight early buckets and then getting a layup-and-one by senior forward Jacobo Diaz to go on top by 22 points.
 
The Mountain Cats did claw back, but never shrunk their deficit to single digits as the Crimson Hawks cruised to the 13-point victory.
 
Diaz and Lombardi also scored in double-figures with 15 and 13 points, respectively, and combined for eight of IUP's 15 steals.
 
Lombardi posted his second career double-double, tying a career-high with 12 assists.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks are No. 3 in the NABC and D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … The 13-0 record is the second best start in the Joe Lombardi era since the Crimson Hawks opened the 2013-14 season 14-0 … This is also the fourth winning streak of at least 14 games for Lombardi, who had a career-best 18-game win streak during the 2016-17 season … Lombardi is now 13-3 all-time against UPJ, including 12-1 since the Mountain Cats joined the PSAC in 2013 … Miller now has five games of 20-plus points this season, including two straight and three in the last four games … This week Miller averaged 25.5 points and 5.0 assists per game and shot 65.5 percent from the field … UPJ entered the weekend as the PSAC's top scoring team at 89.0 points per game, scoring 16 under their season average … IUP forced the Mountain Cats into a season-high 20 turnovers.
 
Up next
This marked the first game of a tough stretch for the Crimson Hawks, who head to Erie next Wednesday to play Mercyhurst (8-3, 3-3 PSAC). The Lakers are coming off a 92-91 overtime loss to Slippery Rock Saturday night and are one of the top scoring teams in the PSAC at 80.3 points per game.
 
Follow
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