INDIANA, Pa. – On what should have been a celebratory night, a Mercyhurst 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left gave the Lakers an upset 64-63 win over fourth-ranked IUP men's basketball Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Coming out of a timeout with 7.2 seconds to play, the Lakers' Derrick Ellis found Trystan Pratapas in the left corner for the open trey to give them the one-point lead.
 
Originally thought to be at the buzzer, 0.4 seconds was put back onto the clock for one last for the Crimson Hawks. But a full court inbound pass went over the outstretch arms of Willem Brandwijk and Mercyhurst clinched the upset victory.
 
The loss ended the Crimson Hawks' five-game win streak as they dropped to 19-2 overall and 12-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). They're now back into a first place tie with Slippery Rock in the PSAC West standings.
 
During the game, IUP seniors Dante Lombardi and Jacobo Diaz each added more milestones to their successful careers.
 
With his second assist of the night, Lombardi became IUP's all-time leader passing Devante Chance (2011-15) with 513. He finished with seven assists and now has 517 for his career.
 
Diaz grabbed his 1,000th career rebound Saturday night, becoming the second player in program history (Darryl Webb) to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds. He's among 10 active players from across all NCAA divisions with those numbers, including just two from Division II.
 
The game was tight throughout, except for two big runs by both teams in each half.
 
Mercyhurst (15-4, 10-4 PSAC) led by two points midway through the first half before ripping off a 15-4 run to take a 30-17 lead heading into the under-4 media timeout. The Lakers capitalized on a field goal drought by the Crimson Hawks where they attempted just two shots over a 3:25 time span.
 
The Lakers kept their double-digit lead at halftime, going into the locker room on top 36-26.
 
IUP forced Mercyhurst into seven turnovers but didn't take advantage, shooting just 31.0 percent from the field with six turnovers of its own. The Lakers shot nearly 45 percent from the field with six 3-pointers.
 
The Crimson Hawks got it rolling early in the second half, getting the Kovalchick Complex into the game with a 13-4 run to start things off. IUP used the 3-pointer to grab the momentum, with Armoni Foster, Diaz and Malik Miller each knocking down a trey during the run.
 
A 3-pointer by Lombardi with 13:39 left gave the Crimson Hawks their first lead in 18:59 of game time at 44-43.
 
IUP clung to its lead most of the rest of the way, going up by as many as six points on three occasions.
 
Mercyhurst used foul shots to close the gap in the final minutes, making it a 59-58 game with 2:19 to play. After scoreless possessions by both teams, the Lakers took advantage of three offensive rebounds to eventually take a lead with a 3-pointer from Nicholas Lang with 34 seconds to play. The bucket gave them a 61-59 lead.
 
Miller answered for the Crimson Hawks with a triple of his own, putting them back on top at 62-61 with 20 seconds to go.
 
After a Lakers timeout, an inlet pass fell through Patrick Smith's hands as IUP took control with less than 10 seconds to play. Diaz split his chances at the line after a Mercyhurst foul, making it a two-point lead and setting up the game-winner for Mercyhurst.
 
Miller scored a game-high 20 points while Diaz had 19 and Lombardi added 12.
 
The Crimson Hawks shot 53.1 percent in the second half, limiting Mercyhurst to less than 30 percent. The Lakers dominated the glass, however, including 18 offensive rebounds which led to 15 second chance points.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks are No. 4 in the NABC and No. 3 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … The loss ended IUP's 7-game win streak over the Lakers dating back to the 2015-16 season … It was Mercyhurst's third road win in the series and first since a 65-62 win at the KCAC December 3, 2014 … These teams split their season series with the Crimson Hawks winning 77-66 in Erie January 9 … The loss was IUP's first at home this year … Mercyhurst shot 10-of-19 from 3-point range, the Crimson Hawks went 6-of-23.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks look to bounce back and avenge their only other loss of the year when they host Slippery Rock (15-6, 12-2 PSAC) Wednesday night. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. The Rock defeated IUP 74-69 at home January 12. The two teams are tied for first in the PSAC West standings with seven regular season games left to play.
 
Follow
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