INDIANA, Pa. – An 18-point deficit less than nine minutes into the night wasn't too much for the seventh-ranked IUP men's basketball team as the Crimson Hawks posted a huge second half in an 86-69 win over Cal U Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
IUP trailed by five at the half and outscored the Vulcans 58-to-36 in the second half to complete the comeback.
The win was the sixth straight for the Crimson Hawks, who improved to 15-1 on the season and 10-1 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action.
The Vulcans (11-6, 7-4 PSAC) came out on fire, making four 3-pointers in the first four minutes and hitting on 9-of-14 from the floor to take a 22-4 lead at the 11:24 mark of the first half.
IUP slowly chipped away, first going on a 6-0 run later followed by a 7-0 run to make it a 30-21 game with 3:15 to play before the break. The Hawks then finished the half on a 7-2 run and all of a sudden, the Vulcans big lead was just five at 33-28 heading to the locker room.
The contributions came from all over as IUP fought to get back in the game.
Armoni Foster had eight points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the first half, while
Malik Miller had seven points and three steals,
Ethan Porterfield had six points and two blocks and
Chucky Humphries had five points, three rebounds and a block.
An early second half 3-pointer by Miller tied the game at 33-33 but the Vulcans pulled back ahead take a 51-46 lead with 14 minutes to play.
That lead for Cal U would not last much longer as IUP answered with a 3-pointer by
Dave Morris, who would make it a four-point play after getting fouled by the Vulcans' star Brent Pegram. Humphries put the Hawks on top with a trey on their next possession as they would go on to own the rest of the half.
Morris continued his strong play, scoring 15 points in the second half alone, going 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line with three assists, two steals and a block. Miller also scored 15 second half points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Porterfield scored 11 on 5-of-7 from the field.
IUP put the game away with a 14-2 run over 5:20 late in the second half to lead by as many as 19 points.
The Crimson Hawks shot 69.7 percent (23-of-33) with six 3-pointers and a plus-7 rebounding edge in the second half alone. They also forced Cal U into 18 turnovers on the night.
The Vulcans, who made four of their first five 3-point attempt, finished the night 7-of-23 from deep.
Who stood out
All five IUP started scored in double-figures, led by Miller's 22 points. He went 8-of-16 from the field with five rebounds and three steals in 35 minutes.
Porterfield, Morris and Foster scored 17 points apiece. Porterfield added seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 37 minutes. Foster also grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals in the full 40 while Morris had five boards and three steals.
Humphries finished with 10 points and four rebounds as he battled foul trouble.
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 7 in the NABC Top 25 and No. 6 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … This was IUP's fifth win in its last six games of 15 points or more … Since dropping its only game of the year at Shippensburg (69-66) in December, the Crimson Hawks are 6-0 with a +19.5 scoring margin … IUP is the first team in the PSAC to 10 conference wins and lead next Wednesday's opponent, Pitt-Johnstown, by one game in Western Division standings.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks hit the road to battle UPJ (15-3, 9-2 PSAC) in a battle of the top two teams in the division next Wednesday. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
