INDIANA, Pa. – Redshirt sophomore guard Armoni Foster scored a career-high 33 points to lead the top-seeded IUP men's basketball team to an 80-63 win over Cal U in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships Wednesday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Foster helped the Crimson Hawks shoot 50 percent from the field and make 11 3-pointers as they kept their bid for back-to-back titles alive. They advance to Saturday's PSAC semifinals to play East No. 2 seed East Stroudsburg at Shippensburg University.
 
The Crimson Hawks (26-2) set the tone early, using a dominant 18-0 run to take a 27-11 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the first half.
 
Five different Hawks scored during the run, with Foster scoring seven points while senior guard Malik Miller hit back-to-back shots, including a 3-pointer to give IUP the 16-point lead.
 
The Vulcans (19-11) cut their deficit to single digits, but foul shots by Miller with 2:09 left closed the scoring in the first half and gave IUP a 35-24 lead heading to the locker room.
 
Cal U outscored IUP 7-3 over a minute stretch early in the second half to again cut the Hawks' lead to nine points, but that was the closest the Vulcans would get.
 
Foster led an 11-2 IUP run as the guard scored nine straight points give the Hawks a 51-33 lead with 14 minutes to play. They'd go on to lead by as many as 21 points as they cruised to the 17-point victory.
 
IUP shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half, going 8-of-12 from 3-point range. The Crimson Hawks' defense held Cal U to under 33 percent shooting for the game, including 6-of-31 from beyond the arc.
 
Who stood out
Foster's 33 points eclipsed his previous career-high of 28 he scored in a comeback win at Le Moyne back in November. He shot 12-of-17 from field, hit a career-high five 3-pointers, and added four made free throws in 38 minutes. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.
 
Miller was the only other IUP player in double-figures with 19 points. He went 6-of-13 from the field, also made five 3-pointers, and had steals in 35 minutes.
 
Senior forward Chucky Humphries grabbed 11 rebounds and had three steals and freshman forward Ethan Porterfield had eight points, eight rebounds and three 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 … IUP is also No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings … IUP has defeated Cal U 13 straight times dating back to the 2013-14 season … This was IUP's 20th 80-point game of the season … IUP is making its 35th all-time PSAC tournament appearance, including its 13th straight … IUP is going for its 11th all-time PSAC tournament title, including 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2019 under head coach Joe Lombardi.

Up next
The Crimson Hawks head to Shippensburg this weekend and will face East Stroudsburg (20-8) in the semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m. IUP won the regular season matchup 80-56 at the Kovalchick Complex on November 24. The winner will play the winner of Shippensburg and Mercyhurst for the championship Sunday at 3 p.m.

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