INDIANA, Pa. – The guard duo of senior Malik Miller and redshirt sophomore Armoni Foster combined for 56 points, lifting ninth-ranked IUP men's basketball to a nail-biting 85-83 home victory over Gannon Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Miller finished with a game-high 30 points while Foster went for 26. The combined to shoot 17-of-29 from the field and 17-of-19 from the foul line to go along with eight assists and four steals.
 
It was the closest home win of the season for the Crimson Hawks as they remained undefeated at the Kovalchick Complex (13-0). IUP improved to 21-2 overall and 16-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), keeping a comfortable lead over second place Pitt-Johnstown (14-5) in the Western Division heading into the final four games of the regular season.
 
It was another tight battle between IUP and Gannon as momentum switched several times between the teams throughout the night. Both squads shot over 50 percent from the field to overcome 37 turnovers between the two. The 35 total fouls led to 19-of-21 free throws for the Crimson Hawks and a 14-of-15 performance at the line for Gannon.
 
Foster made his presence known first on the defensive end with two blocks of Gannon's Frank Webb in the first minute of the game. He then took over offensively with 13 of IUP's first 22 points as the Crimson Hawks had a 7-point lead nearing the midway point of the half.
 
He got to the foul line early and often, taking advantage of an aggressive Gannon defense to hit 8-of-8 foul shots in the first half.
 
The Hawks used a 10-0 run to seemingly take control at 32-20 with 7:36 to play in the first half. But Gannon (12-11, 11-8 PSAC) answered with a 14-2 run to tie the game at 34-34. The Golden Knights did take a lead in the final minute before a 3-pointer by IUP's Dave Morris put the Crimson Hawks in front 39-37 at the break.
 
The second half was Miller's turn to take over. He scored or assisted on six of IUP's first seven buckets with a fastbreak layup giving the Hawks a 55-48 lead before forcing a Gannon timeout.
 
That was the largest lead of the second half for the Hawks, as Gannon came back once again to tie the game at 59-59 before taking the lead at 63-61 after a 10-4 run. The Knights led 69-66 with seven minutes to play when Morris buried a 3-pointer before forcing a turnover which led to a layup-and-one by Miller to swing the lead back into IUP's favor.
 
With Gannon on top with two minutes to play, Miller drained back-to-back 3-pointers to make the crowd of over 3,000 go wild as IUP took an 81-78 lead with 1:19 to play. Gannon missed on its next trip down the court before Miller and Foster knocked down a pair of free throws each to clinch the IUP victory.
 
Who stood out
Miller scored 23 of his 30 points in the pivotal second half, hitting a near perfect 9-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line. He finished the night 12-of-18 from the field with three 3-pointers and five assists in 39 minutes.
 
It was his second 30-point outing of the season, posting a career-high 32 points two weeks ago in a win over Seton Hill.
 
Foster did his damage in the first half where he scored 20 of his 26. He shot 5-of-11 from the field for the game with a pair of 3-pointers and went 14-of-16 from the free throw line. He added four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in 39 minutes.
 
Morris also reached double-digits, scoring 11 points on the strength of three 3-pointers in just 23 minutes while dealing with foul trouble.
 
Notes
The Crimson Hawks entered the game ranked No. 9 in the NABC Top 25 and No. 6 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls … This was IUP's ninth 80-point performance of the season, the most under head coach Joe Lombardi … IUP has won six straight home games in the Gannon series … The Hawks are 32-2 at home since the start of last season.

Up next
The Crimson Hawks go for their fourth straight win Wednesday when they host Edinboro (5-17, 2-16 PSAC). Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
 
Follow
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