MATCHUP
(9/6) IUP Crimson Hawks vs. (-/-) Gannon Golden Knights
Saturday, February 15, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. | Kovalchick Complex, Indiana, Pa.
*Rankings reflect NABC/D2SIDA Top 25 Polls

PREVIEW INFORMATION
IUP (20-2, 15-2 PSAC) | Gannon (12-10, 11-7 PSAC)

FOLLOW
Watch: IUP-TV Sports (Stretch Internet) | Live Stats: IUPstats.com (StatBroadcast) | Listen: WQMU 92.5, U92 Sports App | Twitter Updates: @IUP_MBB

COMING UP
Wednesday, Feb. 19 vs. Edinboro, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22 at Seton Hill, 3 p.m.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
No. 9 IUP men's basketball (20-2, 15-2 PSAC) returns home for a weekend battle with Gannon (12-10, 11-7 PSAC) Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks are coming off an inspiring road win Wednesday, defeating Cal U 79-70 with strong defense down the stretch. The Golden Knights saw their season-long five-game win streak come to an end this week with a 56-51 home loss to Mercyhurst. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> IUP used a 23-9 late game run, keeping the Vulcans scoreless for more than four minutes down the stretch, for the key road divisional victory. 
>> Five Hawks scored in double-figures, including a game-high 24 points from R-So. G Armoni Foster. Sr. F Chucky Humphries posted his first double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. 
>> Foster posted his 11th 20-point game of the season, a team-high. He's averaging 20.8 PPG in his last four. 
>> It marked the sixth straight regular season sweep of Cal U. 
>> It was the fifth time this year that five players have scored in double-figures. IUP is undefeated in those games. 
>> IUP has six games of 90+ points this year, the most in 14 seasons under HC Joe Lombardi. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are one of 10 teams in Division II with 2 or fewer losses this season. 
>> A win would give IUP its fourth regular season sweep of Gannon in the last five years. The Crimson Hawks defeated GU 85-64 in Erie on Jan. 11 with Foster scoring a game-high 24 points. 
>> HC Joe Lombardi is 17-10 lifetime against Gannon, winning eight of the last nine meetings.
>> IUP has won five straight home games in the series with a +11.6 scoring margin. 
>> The Hawks are 31-2 at home since the start of last year, including a 12-0 mark this year. IUP has a +24.0 scoring margin in those 12 wins, including seven by more than 20 points.
>> IUP has a three-game lead in the PSAC West over 2nd place UPJ with five games left.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
>> Gannon is 12-10 overall and in 5th place in the PSAC West standings with an 11-7 league record.
>> Gannon is one of five teams in the division to clinch a postseason spot and trails Cal U by a half-game. 
>> The Golden Knights have been playing their best ball, including a recent five-game win streak. 
>> Gannon is shooting 50.4 percent from the field over its last four games, hitting 12 3s against Seton Hill and 11 against Slippery Rock. 
>> GU is 6-5 on the road this season but has won four of its last five away from home.

IUP IN THE RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks stayed at No. 9 in this week's NABC Top 25 coaches' poll.  
>> It marks the 12th 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 30th 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 HAS 12 STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
>> Wednesday's victory over Cal U gave IUP its 12th straight 20-win season under HC Joe Lombardi. 
>> IUP combined for 14 20-win seasons in the previous 48 seasons (1957-2006). 
>> With a three-game lead on UPJ in the standings, IUP's magic number is 3 heading into the final five games. 
>> The Crimson Hawks were the first team in the conference to clinch a PSAC tournament berth back on Jan. 29. 
>> IUP is one of 10 teams in Division II (as of Feb. 13) with just 2 losses this year. 

OFFENSE COULD BE BEST IN LOMBARDI ERA
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and 39th in Division II with an 83.4 scoring average.
>> It's the best scoring mark in Lombardi's 14 seasons.
>> IUP has six 90-point games this season, the most by any Lombardi team. 
>> In 12 games since the break, IUP has eight 80-point outings, including a run of six straight in January. 
>> IUP is 2nd in the league in FG% (.492) and FT% (.762), and 3rd in assists (15.6 APG) and made 3s (8.9 PG).
>> R-So. G Armoni Foster and Sr. G Malik Miller are both averaging over 18 points per game. 

DEFENSE IS ROCK SOLID
>> IUP is 12th in Division II allowing just 65.8 PPG. 
>> IUP has held opponents under 70 points 14 times, including 12 times in 17 PSAC games. 
>> IUP is also among national leaders in defensive FG% (.398 - 5th), defensive 3FG% (.312 - 16th), and blocks per game (4.2 - 25th).  
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield (37) and Sr. F Chucky Humphries (23) rank 2nd and 6th, respectively, in the PSAC in blocks. 
>> R-So. G Dave Morris is 5th in the PSAC with 39 steals and Foster is 6th with 38 steals.  

CLUTCH AT THE FOUL LINE
>> The Crimson Hawks are 3rd in the PSAC shooting 76.2 percent from the foul line. 
>> IUP has been hot of late, converting 82.0 percent (119-145) from the charity stripe over the last six games. 
>> The Hawks top three FT shooters during that span have been R-So. G Armoni Foster (.851), Sr. G Malik Miller (.828) and Fr. F Ethan Porterfield (.773) and 

MILLER ON A HOT STREAK
>> Sr. G Malik Miller has put together three of the highest scoring games of his career over the last two weeks, including a career-high 32 vs. Seton Hill (Jan. 29). 
>> He scored 28 points last Saturday against SRU (Feb. 8) and had 27 against Clarion (Jan. 25). 
>> Miller has six 20-point performances in the last eight games, averaging 20.5 PPG during that span. 
>> Miller is currently 14th in IUP history with 1,367 career points. He's 2 points away from tying Sam Scott in 13th place with 1,369. 
>> Miller is 7th in the PSAC with 18.0 PPG.
>> Miller was named a preseason player of the year candidate by Wayne Cavaldi of NCAA.com.

FOSTER HAS BEEN HUGE AS FIRST-YEAR STARTER
>> R-So. G Armoni Foster was named to the top-100 watch list for the Bevo Francis Award, which annually goes to the top small college player in the nation.
>> He is 6th in the PSAC at 18.6 PPG.
>> Foster has 11 20-point outings and has scored in double-figures 19 times in 22 games. 
>> Foster is the top shooting guard in the conference, ranking 9th overall with a 49.1 FG% (140-285).
>> 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. 

PORTERFIELD VALUABLE AS FRESHMAN STARTER
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield has 15 starts this year, the most by an IUP freshman since Ashton Smith's 23 during the 2008-09 season. 
>> Porterfield has a season-high 19 points on two occasions, which are the most by an IUP freshman since Jacobo Diaz (20 points 2x) in 2015-16. 
>> Porterfield is 2nd in the PSAC with 37 blocks and leads IUP with a 57.4 FG% and 43.9 3FG%. 
>> He posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds at Edinboro. 

MORRIS COMING INTO HIS OWN
>> R-So. G Dave Morris is averaging 11.9 PPG and 4.7 APG with a 55.1 FG% over the last nine games. 
>> The Erie native posted a career-high 19 points in the win at Gannon and had games of 17 points against Cal U and 16 points at Pitt-Johnstown. 
>> Morris leads the team with 91 assists, including a career-high 10 (with 1 turnover) against Bethany.