JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Five Crimson Hawks scored in double-figures as the seventh-ranked IUP men's basketball team posted another big offensive performance in a 100-93 win over Pitt-Johnstown at the Sports Center Wednesday night.
The game featured the top two teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with IUP extending its lead in the standings to two games. It was the seventh straight win for the Crimson Hawks, who improved to 16-1 overall and 11-1 in league play. UPJ fell to 15-4 overall and 9-3 in the conference.
IUP shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the field and knocked down a season-high 13 3-pointers on the night. The Hawks also took advantage of its trips to the foul line, going 25-of-28 from the charity stripe.
Malik Miller knocked down a pair of early 3-pointers to help the Crimson Hawks take a 12-2 lead less than four minutes into the game. UPJ rallied and caught a hot streak, going on a 17-2 run over the next 4:16 to go on top 19-14.
Shawndale Jones answered UPJ's run with a pair of 3-pointers and Miller knocked down another trey as IUP went on a 20-8 run and eventually took a 45-40 lead into halftime.
Both teams shot over 60 percent from the field and combined for 12 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
It was more of the same in the second half with the Hawks using the 3-pointer to extend its lead to 12 points as
Anthony White knocked down a triple to make it a 63-51 game.
After UPJ cut its deficit to six points with under 12 minutes to play, the Hawks came back with a 17-8 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 15 points with seven minutes left.
The Mountain Cats sent IUP to the line often from there on out as the Crimson Hawks went a perfect 15-of-15 in the last six minutes to clinch the win.
Who stood out
Armoni Foster scored a team-high 26 points, capitalizing on those UPJ fouls by going a perfect 12-of-12 at the foul line. It was his team-best eighth 20-point game of the season.
Miller posted his third straight game of 22 points, going 8-of-15 from the field with four 3-pointers. He added six rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.
Also hitting double-figures were
Dave Morris with 16 points, Jones with 14 points and White with 11. Jones grabbed a team-best eight rebounds while
Ethan Porterfield had nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
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 the second 100-point game of the season for the Crimson Hawks (108 vs. Bethany) … IUP has win streaks of seven and nine games sandwiched around its only loss of the year … The Hawks are averaging 85.9 points per game during their current seven-game win streak.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks go for eight straight wins Saturday night when they host Clarion (4-14, 3-9 PSAC). Tipoff at the Kovalchick Complex is 7:30 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
