INDIANA, Pa. - Senior guard
Shawndale Jones scored a game-high 19 points to lead five Hawks in double-figures as the 18th-ranked IUP men's basketball team defeated West Virginia Wesleyan 87-61 in its 2021-22 season opener at the Kovalchick Complex Friday night. It was the first night of the IRMC/Hilton Garden Inn Classic and IUP's first meaningful basketball since the pandemic forced cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Championships last March.
Tommy Demogerontas tallied a double-double, scoring 16 points on 8-13 shooting with 15 rebounds in just 26 minutes. He was making his long-awaited return after an injury sidelined him for all but the first four games of the 2019-20 season.
Junior guard
Armoni Foster scored 15 points and dished out eight assists while redshirt freshman
Bryce Radford came off the bench to score 14 points and sophomore post
Ethan Porterfield added 10 points.
The Crimson Hawks drilled 12 3-pointers on the night, with Radford going a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. Jones, Porterfield, and junior point guard
Dave Morris each hit a pair from deep.
It was a slow start for the Hawks, who found themselves down 22-17 after too many turnovers midway through the first half. West Virginia Wesleyan was able to run with IUP, holding a 31-30 lead with five minutes left in the half when the Hawks went on a 15-1 run, highlighted by a big dunk from Demogerontas and 3-pointers by
Kyle Polce, Jones and Foster.
IUP continued to dominate in the second half, shooting 50 percent while pushing its lead into the 20s with over four minutes left to play to close out the victory.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks close out their season-opening tournament Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against Concord.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
