INDIANA, Pa. - The No. 6-ranked IUP men's basketball team (8-0, 3-0 PSAC) plays host to conference crossover action this weekend as Shepherd (5-4, 1-2 PSAC) and Shippensburg (5-3, 2-1 PSAC) make the trip to Indiana. The Crimson Hawks play Shepherd Saturday and Shippensburg Sunday, with both tipoffs at 3 p.m. at the Kovalchick Complex. IUP is coming off an 81-58 home win over Millersville on Tuesday, its first game playing without the injured Shawndale Jones. Shepherd has dropped three of its last four, including a 65-64 defeat at Pitt-Johnstown Tuesday. The Raiders have won three straight and is coming off a 70-61 win at Clarion. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Jr. G Armoni Foster scored a game-high 27 points in just 28 minutes against Millersville. 
>> Soph. F Ethan Porterfield had a career-high 23 points and 5th yr. F Tommy Demogerontas had his third double-double of the year with 15 points and 12 rebounds. 
>> Several Hawks fought through foul trouble as IUP accumulated 24 personal fouls. MU finished 17-30 at the line. 
>> IUP's 81 points against Millersville is its lowest output of the season. The Hawks have scored 90 points in five of their eight games, breaking the 100-point mark twice. 
>> It was announced Dec. 13 that Sr. G Shawndale Jones will miss the remainder of the season due to an injury he suffered in the win at West Chester. Jones was leading the PSAC and ranked 5th in Division II with 25.0 PPG.
>> IUP HC Joe Lombardi is 1-0 against Shepherd, winning 76-62 in 2019. He has a 9-4 lifetime record against Shippensburg, including a 4-3 mark against former assistant and current SU coach Chris Fite. 
>> The Hawks have won 23 straight home games dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season. 
>> IUP is 203-35 (.853) at home under Lombardi since he took over in 2006-07.
>> IUP leads the PSAC in scoring (93.5), field goal pct. (.536), 3FG pct. (.388), and assists/game (19.5). The Hawks are also 2nd in 3FGs made/game (8.9) and scoring margin (+25.2), and third in steals/game (11.0). 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE RAMS
>> Shepherd is 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the PSAC.
>> The Rams had a 4-game win streak snapped Dec. 3 against Gannon and have lost three of four since. 
>> SU is 17th in the PSAC in scoring at 68.7 PPG but 2nd defensively allowing just 63.6 PPG. 
>> The Rams lead the PSAC in 3FGs made per game (9.0), total made (81), and total attempted (232). 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE RAIDERS
>> Shippensburg is 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the PSAC.
>> The Raiders have won three straight games by an average of 8.3 points per game. 
>> SU is 16th in the PSAC in scoring at 69.1 PPG but 3rd defensively allowing just 66.5 PPG. 
>> The Rams lead the PSAC in 3FGs made per game (9.0), total made (81), and total attempted (232). 

IUP IN THE POLLS
>> The Crimson Hawks remained at No. 6 in the NABC Coaches' and No. 3 in the D2SIDA Media Polls.
>> It's the 38th time in the last 40 polls the Hawks have been eligible for that they rank in the top-10, dating back to the 2019-20 preseason poll. 
>> IUP spent the entire 2018-19 season in the top-5 of the media poll and all of 2019-20 in the top-10.

IUP OFF TO ANOTHER UNBEATEN START
>> The Crimson Hawks won their first five non-conference games and three straight to open the PSAC slate.
>> This is the fifth time since the 2009-10 season that IUP has opened a season with at least 8 straight wins. 
>> IUP's best start under Lombardi was 14-0 to open the 2017-18 and 2013-14 seasons.
>> IUP started the 2019-20 season 9-0 and the 2009-10 season 11-0.

HAWKS HOT OFFENSE PROVIDES FIREWORKS
>> IUP leads the PSAC and is 4th in DII with 93.5 PPG.
>> The Hawks have scored at least 81 points all eight games, including two 100-point games - 106 vs. Le Moyne and 103 at West Chester.
>> IUP also leads the nation with a 53.6 FG%.
>> IUP leads the PSAC with 9.0 made 3s per game. 
>> The Hawks' 19.5 assists per game are 5th in Division II.
>> IUP shot 67.8 pct (40-59) from the field, 52.4 pct. from 3 (11-21) and dished out 28 assists in the 97-45 win over Virginia State.
>> Four of IUP's starters are averaging double-figures.

MAKING PLAYS ON DEFENSE
>> IUP is 6th in Division II with 11.0 steals per game. 
>> Jr. G Dave Morris is among the national leaders with 24 steals and 3.4 per game.
>> The Hawks' 4.4 blocks per game is 4th in the PSAC, getting at least 6 blocks in a game four times. 
>> IUP has won the rebound battle is seven of eight games and is 3rd in the PSAC with a +7.9 margin.

IUP SUCCESSFUL AT HOME
>> The Crimson Hawks have won 23 straight home games dating back to the 2019-20 season.
>> IUP's longest home win streak during the Lombardi Era is 30 straight victories. That streak ran from the 2008-09 to the 2010-11 seasons.
>> IUP is 42-2 (.954) at home since 2018-19 and 128-16 (.889) since the 2012-13 season. 
>> IUP has two undefeated home seasons under Lombardi - 18-0 in 2009-10 and 16-0 in 2019-20. 

JONES WILL NOT RETURN IN 2021-22
>> Sr. G Shawndale Jones will miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season after suffering an injury at West Chester.
>> At the time of his injury, Jones led the PSAC and ranked 6th in Division II with 25.0 PPG. 
>> He had five 20-point games, including a career-high 37 points at Bowie State.
>> He's one of four IUP players this century to score at least 37 points in a game. 
>> He was also 9th in the PSAC with a 57.4 FG%, 4th with an 86.8 FT%, and 4th with 33 free throws made. 

FOSTER GETTING IT DONE ALL OVER THE COURT
>> Jr. G Armoni Foster is averaging 20.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 5.6 APG, to go along with 13 steals and 6 blocks.
>> Foster earned back-to-back PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors (Nov. 29, Dec. 6).
>> He's one of four players in Division II with a triple-double, going for 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against Virginia State. 
>> Foster also has two double-doubles this year: 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists against Concord and 17 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds against Le Moyne.
>> Foster went over 1,000 career points during the win at Kutztown. He's currently tied for 31st with 1,064 points.

DEMOGERONTAS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE THREAT
>> 5th yr. F Tommy Demogerontas is averaging 14.0 PPG and a team-best 8.6 RPG this year.
>> He posted his 3rd double-double of the year with 15 points and 12 boards against Millersville. 
>> He has five double-doubles in 15 games at IUP.
>> Demogerontas is 5th in the PSAC and 47th in Division II with a 60.3 FG%. 
>> He's a threat from 3-point range with a 54.5 3FG% (12-22), going 4-4 against Bowie State.

PORTERFIELD IS MR. INSIDE AND MR. OUTSIDE
>> So. F Ethan Porterfield is averaging 16.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG, has 17 3-pointers and 15 blocks.
>> He leads the PSAC with a 51.5 3FG% (17-33).
>> He's tied for 3rd in the PSAC with a 62.5 FG% (50-80).
>> Porterfield's 1.88 BPG is 4th in the PSAC.
>> He's hit career-highs in back-to-back games: 21 points vs. West Chester and 23 vs. Millersville.