ERIE, Pa. – Junior guard Malik Miller scored a game-high 22 points and helped the Crimson Hawks shoot over 65 percent in the second half as sixth-ranked IUP men's basketball took down Gannon 78-63 at the Hammermill Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Holding onto a five-point halftime lead, the Crimson Hawks outscored Gannon 45-35 in the final 20 minutes for their fourth straight road win.
 
Miller scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half, knocking down 5-of-7 from the floor including a pair of 3-pointers to pace the hot-shooting Crimson Hawks.
 
They improved to 21-2 overall and kept their one-game lead in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with a 14-2 league mark.
 
The Crimson Hawks raced out to a 12-4 lead after back-to-back buckets by senior forward Jacobo Diaz and with 3-pointers by Miller and senior guard Dante Lombardi.
 
Miller and Lombardi combined for nine 3-pointers to help the Crimson Hawks make 11-of-22 for the game.
 
The Golden Knights (8-15, 6-10 PSAC) responded with a 13-3 run to take their first lead of the day at 17-15 with 10:31 to play.
 
Miller and Lombardi knocked down 3-pointers to regain the lead and the Crimson Hawks hit two more in the final two minutes of the half as they took a 33-28 lead into the break.
 
Gannon outshot the IUP in the first half, converting better than 52 percent from the field. But the Crimson Hawks' six 3-pointers and nine forced turnovers kept them on top.
 
Leading 36-33 early in the second half, the Crimson Hawks took off using a 3-pointer by Miller to jumpstart an 11-1 run. Miller followed his triple with another bucket and Lombardi capped the run by getting fouled knocking down a 3-pointer of his own before converting the ensuing free throw.
 
Later in the half the Golden Knights used a 7-0 run to cut IUP's lead to 57-51, but that's the closest they would get. Forwards Willem Brandwijk and Chucky Humphries made IUP's next four buckets and Lombardi knocked down another 3-pointer to put the Crimson Hawks on top 68-53 with 6:21 left.
 
IUP missed just one more shot the rest of the way, keeping its comfortable double-digit lead.
 
Three other Crimson Hawks joined Miller with double-figure scoring, including Lombardi with 18 points, Diaz with 14 and Brandwijk with 10. Diaz grabbed 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the year.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks are No. 6 in the NABC and No. 6 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … Coach Joe Lombardi improved to 296-99 (.749) for his career and is just four wins shy of becoming the third active PSAC coach with 300 career victories … This was IUP's seventh win in the last eight meetings with Gannon, including a 78-57 win at the KCAC on January 2 … Miller averaged 24.0 points in two meetings with Gannon this year … IUP improved to 8-1 on the road.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks are back in action next week with another road game, traveling to Pitt-Johnstown Wednesday night. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. The Mountain Cats (13-10, 8-8 PSAC) have dropped two straight games to the bottom two teams in the PSAC West standings, losing to Edinboro 96-88 Wednesday and Clarion 71-66 Saturday.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.