INDIANA, Pa. – Seniors Malik Miller and Chucky Humphries helped the seventh-ranked IUP men's basketball team to a 93-82 win over Pitt-Johnstown in the regular season finale Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Miller and Humphries were honored during pregame festivities as part of Senior Night, then went on to star as the Crimson Hawks head into the postseason with a 25-2 overall record. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division champs went 20-2 in league play, two games better than anyone else in the conference.
 
Miller finished with 22 points and three steals while Humphries nearly went for a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds to go along with four steals and a block.
 
IUP led for all but the first minute of the night as the Hawks slowly built on their advantage until a 7-0 run gave them a 26-15 lead just over midway through the opening half.
 
Later in the half Armoni Foster gave IUP a 12-point lead at 37-25 on a layup-and-one. Foster then hit a 3-pointer and Dave Morris had an offensive rebound and putback as the half came to a close to give the Hawks a comfortable 44-30 lead heading to the locker room.
 
IUP quickly took its lead to 18 points early in the second half and held a 57-39 lead after a Morris bucket with 15:42 to play. The Crimson Hawks enjoyed a sizeable lead for much of the remainder of the game, going on top by 21 points at 84-63 on a Miller 3-pointer to 3:18 to go.
 
The Mountain Cats didn't make it easy on IUP in the final minutes, making five 3-pointers while going on a 17-2 run to cut their deficit to single digits with 58 seconds to play. The Hawks iced the game at the line, going 5-of-6 down the stretch to secure the double-digit win.
 
IUP took advantage of 28 UPJ personal fouls to hit 23 foul shots. The Hawks also held a 46-31 advantage on the glass and forced 20 turnovers.
 
Who stood out
Five Crimson Hawks reached double-figures, led by Foster with a game-high 25 points. He went 9-of-19 from the field and 6-of-9 from the foul line, adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 38 minutes. It was his 14th 20-point game of the year.
 
Miller went 7-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-8 from the foul line. The 22 points marked Miller's 14th 20-point game of the season.
 
Morris finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists. Ethan Porterfield scored 10 points with eight rebounds while Shawndale Jones also had 10 points off the bench.
 
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 … IUP is also No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings … IUP swept the season series with Pitt-Johnstown averaging 96.5 points in the two games … IUP now has 19 80-point games and eight 90-point games this year.
 
Up next
As the No. 1 seed in the West, the Crimson Hawks earned a bye in the first round of the PSAC tournament and will host a quarterfinal matchup at the Kovalchick Complex Wednesday, March 4. IUP will play the winner of the No. 4/5 first round matchup of Cal U and Gannon.

Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.