MATCHUP
(9/9) IUP Crimson Hawks at (-/-) Gannon Golden Knights
Saturday, January 11, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. | Hammermill Center, Erie, Pa.
*Rankings reflect NABC/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

PREVIEW INFORMATION
IUP (12-1, 7-1 PSAC) | Gannon (6-6, 5-3 PSAC)

FOLLOW
Watch: GannonSports.com/StretchInternet | Live Stats: GannonSports.com/Sidearm | Listen: WQMU 92.5, U92 Sports App | Twitter Updates: @IUP_MBB

COMING UP
Wednesday, Jan. 15 at Edinboro, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 18 vs. Cal U, 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 9 IUP men's basketball (12-1, 7-1 PSAC) continues its road swing with an always tough trip to Erie to face Gannon (6-6, 5-3 PSAC) Saturday night at the Hammermill Center. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks have won three straight in 2020 and are coming off a hard-fought 78-74 win at Slippery Rock Wednesday night. The Golden Knights have won three of their last four games, including a 75-61 home win over Seton Hill this week. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> The Crimson Hawks overcame a late run by The Rock in what ended up being a typical divisional battle between the two rivals. SRU owned the glass (+19) but IUP made 13-14 free throws in the second half. 
The guard tandem of Sr. Malik Miller and R-So. Armoni Foster each scored 23 points, scoring key buckets and free throws down the stretch of Wednesday's win at SRU.
>> It was IUP's third game of the year decided by 4-or-less points. IUP is 2-1 in those games. 
>> The 23 points was a season-high for Miller, who has four 20-point games this season. 
>> It was the ninth time this year Foster led IUP in scoring. The first-year starter has six 20-point games and ranks 9th in the PSAC at 17.8 PPG. 
>> HC Joe Lombardi is 16-10 lifetime against Gannon, including seven wins in the last eight meetings dating back to the 2015-16 season. 
>> IUP's lone loss to Gannon during that span came in Erie, falling 75-66 during the 2017-18 season. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are 4-1 on the road this year and 36-5 (.878) away from home over the last four seasons. 
>> IUP is 8-1 in PSAC West road games since last year, including seven straight wins. 
>> Through 13 games this is the most productive offense in the Lombardi era, ranking 4th the PSAC in scoring at 81.8 PPG and ranking 3rd in the league with a 48.6 FG%. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
>> Gannon is 6-6 overall and one of three teams tied for 3rd in the division standings with a 5-3 league record. 
>> GU is under the direction of first year head coach Kelvin Jefferson, who spent the last three years as an assistant at Old Dominion. 
>> This will be Gannon's second game against a top-25 opponent, falling to No. 11 Ashland 81-76 in November.
>> The Golden Knights are 4-2 at home this year, with losses to Ashland and West Chester (72-67). 
>> Four of Gannon's 12 games have been decided by 5 points or less. GU is 1-3 in those games. 

IUP IN THE RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks are No. 9 in the NABC Coaches' Top 25 for the second straight week. 
>> It marks the seventh straight week the Crimson Hawks appear in the top 10 of the coaches' poll after opening the preseason at No. 11. 
>> It's also the 25th straight poll release that the Crimson Hawks have been in the top 25. 
>> IUP reached as high as No. 3 in the poll (Dec. 17). 

IUP OFF TO ANOTHER STRONG START
>> IUP is one of 10 teams in Division II (as of Jan. 8) with just 1 or fewer losses this year. 
>> IUP's nine straight wins to open the season was the fourth best start in the Joe Lombardi era.
>> IUP's best start under Lombardi was 14-0 to open the 2017-18 and 2013-14 seasons.
>> The Crimson Hawks lead the PSAC and rank 14th in Division II with a +17.6 scoring margin. 
>> Nine wins have come by more than 11 points with five 20+ point blowouts. 

IUP OFFENSE HAS SET GOOD EARLY SEASON PACE
>> The Crimson Hawks are 4th in the PSAC scoring 81.8 PPG through 13 games. 
>> IUP is also 3rd in the PSAC with a 48.6 FG%. 
>> They have seven games of 80+ points, posting a Lombardi-era high 108 in the win over Bethany.
>> IUP's 81.8 average is currently the highest in the 14 seasons under Lombardi and slighty ahead of last year's pace (81.6) through 13 contests.
>> IUP players have a combined 12 20-point games, with R-So. Armoni Foster leading the team with six. 
>> IUP is 8-0 when a player scores 20 points. 

DEFENSE IS ROCK SOLID
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 9th in Division II allowing just 64.2 PPG.
>> IUP has held opponents under 70 points eight times, giving up just 56 to Mercyhurst on Monday. 
>> IUP also leads the conference in defensive FG% (.393), defensive 3FG% (.299) and is 2nd in steals/game (8.1).
>> IUP is 4th in turnovers forced at 16.0 per game.

WINNING THE BATTLE ON THE GLASS
>> The Crimson Hawks are 3rd in the PSAC and 46th in Division II with a +6.3 rebounding margin.
>> They've been on the plus side of the rebounding margin 10 times in 13 games this year, including a +15 difference against Mercyhurst.
>> IUP is coming off its worst rebounding performance of the year with SRU owning a +19 margin Wednesday.

FOSTER HAS BEEN HUGE AS FIRST-YEAR STARTER
>> R-So. G Armoni Foster is IUP's top scorer, ranking 9th in the PSAC with 17.8 PPG. 
>> He's led IUP in scoring nine times, including each of the last seven, and has six 20-point games.
>> Foster is one of the top shooting guards in the conference, ranking 9th overall with a 51.2 FG% (87-170).
>> He was named PSAC West Athlete and Defensive Athlete of the Week after posting 19 points and 7 steals against Bethany. 
>> He scored a career-high 28 points in the comeback win at Le Moyne, shooting 13-20, and scored 22 of his points in the second half. 

MILLER REACHES 100-GAME AND 1000-POINT MARKS
>> Sr. G Malik Miller became the 34th player in program history to reach 1000 career points when he hit the milestone in the win at Le Moyne (Nov. 15)
>> He became the ninth player in the Lombardi era to reach 100 career games at Shippensburg (Dec. 21). 
>> Miller has 1189 points and an 11.5 career average.
>> He has four 20-point games including a season-high 23 at Slippery Rock. 
>> Miller was named a preseason player of the year candidate by Wayne Cavaldi of NCAA.com.

PORTERFIELD MOVES INTO STARTING LINEUP
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield moved into the lineup against Bethany and is averaging 13.2 PPG and 6.2 RPG in six games as a starter.
>> He scored a season-high 19 points at Shepherd and scored 18 points against Lock Haven.
>> The 19 points is the most by an IUP freshman since Jacobo Diaz in 2015-16. 
>> Porterfield leads the team with a 55.7 FG% (44-79) and is shooting 66.7 percent in the last three games. 
>> He's also a top threat from deep, shooting 41.4 percent (12-29) from long range.

HUMPHRIES RECEIVES PSAC WEEKLY AWARD
>> Sr. F Chucky Humphries was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday after standout performances against Lock Haven and Mercyhurst. 
>> He averaged 9.0 RPG with 6 blocks and 4 steals in two games, including a career-high 4 blocks against LHU. 
>> Humphries is 4th in the PSAC with 1.5 blocks per game.