ERIE, Pa. – Junior guard Malik Miller scored 17 points in the second half to help lead the third-ranked Crimson Hawks back from a halftime deficit for a 77-66 victory at Mercyhurst Wednesday night.
 
Miller finished with a game-high 21 points, one of several individual highlights for IUP as it improved to 14-0 for the second time in the head coach Joe Lombardi era. The Crimson Hawks are 7-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play.
 
Miller shot 7-of-12 from the field with three 3-pointers in 14 second half minutes as the Crimson Hawks fought back from a 37-30 halftime deficit. He scored 10 points in the first seven minutes of the second half and led a 16-8 run as IUP took a 50-49 lead on his second 3-pointer of the night.
 
Both teams traded buckets over the next two minutes until another 3-pointer by Miller broke a tie and gave the Crimson Hawks a 58-55 lead with 11 minutes to play.
 
With the score tied at 62-62 with under seven minutes to go, Miller again came up with a big shot as his score in the paint that jumpstarted an 11-0 run and put IUP on top for good.
 
The IUP defense was huge down the stretch and didn't allow a Mercyhurst bucket for nearly five minutes and just two in the final 2:11 of action. The Crimson Hawks also outrebounded Mercyhurst 8-3 over the last seven minutes.
 
The Crimson Hawks outshot Mercyhurst (8-4, 3-4 PSAC) in the second half, converting nearly 55 percent from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line to outscore the Lakers 47-29.  
 
Senior guard Dante Lombardi scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half, and also swiped four steals in all 20 minutes on the court. Senior forward Willem Brandwijk also had a big second half with eight points and eight rebounds.
 
Brandwijk and fellow senior forward Jacobo Diaz each posted double-doubles. Brandwijk finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Diaz added 12 points and 11 boards.
 
The loss for Mercyhurst was just its second at home this season.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks are No. 3 in the NABC and D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … The 14-0 record is tied for the best start to a season in the coach Joe Lombardi era … That other 14-game win streak to open a season came in 2013-14 … It's also the fourth win streak of at least 14 games under Lombardi … IUP has won seven straight games over Mercyhurst dating back to the second half of the 2015-16 season … Miller has hit 20 points four times in the last five games, including three straight … IUP owned a 41-29 advantage on the glass, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds … IUP finished 14-19 from the foul line, Mercyhurst went 3-6.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks are on the road for the second straight game Saturday when they travel to Slippery Rock (9-5, 6-1 PSAC). It'll be IUP's second straight weekend battle with the second place team in the division as the Rock come in having won seven straight. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.