MATCHUP
(W1) IUP Crimson Hawks vs. (E2) East Stroudsburg Warriors
Saturday, March 7, 2020 | 1 p.m. | Heiges Field House, Shippensburg, Pa.

PREVIEW INFORMATION
IUP (26-2, 20-2 PSAC) | East Stroudsburg (20-8, 15-7 PSAC) | PSAC Tournament Central 

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 (*with victory)
Sunday, March 8 vs. TBD (PSAC Championship), 3 p.m. 

THE GAME AT A GLANCE
Top-seed IUP men's basketball (26-2, 20-2 PSAC) rides momentum into the semifinals of the 2020 PSAC Championships as they head to Shippensburg to face East Stroudsburg (20-8, 15-7 PSAC) Saturday. Tipoff at the Heiges Field House is 1 p.m. The Crimson Hawks advanced with an 80-63 home victory over Cal U in the quarterfinals Wednesday. The Warriors moved on with their 10th straight win, an 86-74 victory over West Chester.  

TIPOFF NOTES
>> IUP is making its 35th all-time PSAC tournament apperance and 13th straight since 2008.
>> IUP is 40-24 (.625) all-time in PSAC tournament games dating back to 1960. The program has won 10 conference tournament championships, including four under HC Joe Lombardi (2010, 2011, 2013, 2019).
>> The Hawks won their fifth straight PSAC West crown and their 10th in the last 11 seasons. 
>> IUP is the only program in conference history to win five straight regular season division titles. The program has done it twice - 2010-14 and 2016-20 under HC Joe Lombardi. 
>> The Hawks entered the PSAC tournament sitting at No. 1 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are one of six teams in Division II with 2 or fewer losses this season. 
>> This is the highest scoring team in Lombardi's 14-year tenure at 84.6 PPG with 20 games of 80+ points. 
>> IUP is 4-0 against East Stroudsburg in the PSAC tournament, including semifinal wins in 2010, 2011 and 2015. 
>> The Hawks defeated East Stroudsburg 80-56 at the Kovalchick Complex back on Nov. 24. Fr. F Ethan Porterfield came off the bench to score 14 points and Jr. G Shawndale Jones had 13. Jr. G Anthony White led with 16 points.
>> Lombardi is 10-4 lifetime against East Stroudsburg, including 3-0 in the PSAC tournament. These teams' last posteason matchup was the 2015 PSAC semifinals in Erie, with IUP winning 76-60. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are 51-14 (.785) in February and March since 2014-15. 
>> This will be IUP's first neutral site game of the year. The Hawks are 10-2 on the road with a +16.8 margin. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE WARRIORS
>> East Stroudsburg is 20-8 overall and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division with a 15-7 league record.
>> ESU is the hottest team in the East with 10 straight wins entering the weekend.
>> The Warriors are No. 9 in this week's NCAA Atlantic Region rankings. 

IUP NO. 1 IN NCAA ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
>> The Crimson Hawks are No. 1 in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings for the third straight week. 
>> The top seed in each of Division II's eight regions will serve as the host for its respective region championships.
>> The last in-season ranking will be released March 4 before the Division II field of 64 is announced March 8. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are looking to host the Atlantic Region Championships for the second straight season and third time since 2010. 

IUP HAD ANOTHER TOP-NOTCH REGULAR SEASON
>> The Crimson Hawks finished the regular season with a  25-2 overall record and 20-2 league mark.
>> It's one of the best regular seasons under Lombardi, including two 26-2 finishes ('16-17, '18-19). 
>> It was also the second time under Lombardi that IUP finished with 20 PSAC wins (21-1, '16-17). 
>> IUP has been ranked in the top 10 of the NABC poll for 15 straight weeks.  

OFFENSE COULD BE BEST IN LOMBARDI ERA
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and 29th in Division II with an 84.6 scoring average.
>> It's the best scoring mark in Lombardi's 14 seasons.
>> IUP has eight 90-point games this season, the most by any Lombardi team. 
>> Over the last 12 games, the Hawks have five 90+ outings and are averaging 87.1 PPG. 
>> IUP is 2nd in the PSAC in FG% (.498) and assists (15.9 APG), 5th in made 3s (9.3 PG), and 6th in FT% (.753).
>> IUP is the only PSAC school with two players averaging over 18 points per game in R-So. G Armoni Foster (19.6, 5th) and Sr. G Malik Miller (18.8, 6th). 

DEFENSE IS ROCK SOLID
>> IUP is 10th in Division II allowing just 65.4 PPG. 
>> IUP has held opponents under 70 points 18 times, including 16 times in 23 PSAC games. 
>> IUP is also among national leaders in defensive FG% (.396 - 3rd), defensive 3FG% (.301 - 4th), and blocks per game (4.2 - 26th).  
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield (49) and Sr. F Chucky Humphries (26) rank 2nd and 6th, respectively, in the PSAC in blocks. 
>> R-So. G Dave Morris (55) and Foster (51) are 2nd and 6th, respectively, in the PSAC in steals. 

CLUTCH AT THE FOUL LINE
>> IUP is 6th in the PSAC with a 75.3 free throw pct. 
>> IUP has been hot of late, converting 77.3 percent (222-287) from the charity stripe over the last 12 games. 
>> Five Hawks have made at least 21 free throws during that span with all of them converting at least 73 percent.

MILLER NAMED PSAC WEST ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
>> Sr. G Malik Miller was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year to go along with 1st team honors. 
>> Miller is 6th in the PSAC with 18.8 PPG with 14 20-point games. He averaged 20.1 PPG in 16 divisional games. 
>> 10 of his 20-point games have come in the last 14. 
>> He made history Feb. 19 against Edinboro with the third triple-double (20/11/10) in IUP history, and the first since Yancey Taylor in the 1995 regional finals. 
>> Miller had four of the highest scoring games of his career over the last three weeks of the regular season.
>> He scored a career-high 32 vs. Seton Hill and had 30 points against Gannon, along with games of 28 points against SRU and 27 against Clarion.  
>> Miller is currently 13th in IUP history with 1,495 career points. He's 15 points away from tying Joe DeLise for 12th place with 1,510 points. 
>> Miller was named a preseason player of the year candidate by Wayne Cavaldi of NCAA.com.

FOSTER EARNS 1ST TEAM ALL-PSAC WEST HONORS
>> R-So. G Armoni Foster was named 1st team All-PSAC West in his first year as a starter.
>> He leads IUP and ranks 4th in the PSAC with 19.6 PPG.
>> Foster has 15 20-point performances, including seven in the last 10 games (22.4 PPG). 
>> He's coming off a career-high 33 points in the quarterfinal win over Cal U and is averaging 23.6 PPG over the last seven games. 
>> He's the top shooting guards in the conference, ranking 5th overall with a 50.0 FG% (184-368).
>> Foster is 4th in the PSAC with 133 free throws made, averaging 6.3 trips to the stripe per game. 
>> He 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.

PORTERFIELD NAMED TOP FRESHMAN
>> Fr. F Ethan Porterfield was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year.
>> He's 3rd on the team with 10.5 PPG and 2nd with 5.4 RPG. Porterfield leads IUP with a 56.6 FG%.
>> His 21 starts this year are 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. 
>> He is 2nd in the PSAC with 49 blocks.
>> He posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds at Edinboro. 

MORRIS ONE OF TOP POINT GUARDS IN PSAC
>> R-So. G Dave Morris is putting up numbers on both ends of the court, averaging 9.6 PPG with a 49.7 FG% and has 55 steals.
>> His 55 steals are tied for 2nd in the PSAC. 
>> Morris has 11 double-figure scoring games and five outings of 7+ assists. 
>> The Erie native scored a career-high 19 points in the Jan. 11 win at Gannon.