INDIANA, Pa. - Sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the No. 6-ranked IUP men's basketball team defeat Shepherd 65-46 Saturday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex.

It was the ninth straight victory to open the season for the Crimson Hawks, who also improve to 4-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. Shepherd fell to 5-5 and 1-3 on the year.

How it happened
Junior guard Armoni Foster was hot early, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a jumper to help the Hawks take a 10-4 lead in the first 4:34 of action. Shepherd was able to keep the game close throughout most of the first half as the Hawks weren't able to expand upon that early six-point lead. 

With seven minutes to play in the half, Foster jump started a 10-0 run that saw four Hawks score as they took a 28-14 lead with 3:52 left. IUP kept that 14-point advantage at the break, leading 32-18 heading into the locker room. 

After shooting a combined 33.3 percent (18-of-54) in the first half, both teams came out hot in the second, trading buckets over the first few minutes as a Tommy Demogerontas dunk made it a 40-29 game with 15:05 to play. The Rams responded to that dunk with a 3-pointer and later went on an 8-3 run to cut IUP's lead to 47-42 nearing the midway point. Bryce Radford responded to that with a trey of his own before the Hawks exploded for a 13-0 run to grab any momentum away from the Rams. Foster and Demogerontas each scored six points during the run which also saw Kyle Polce knock down a 3-pointer. The run gave the Hawks a 63-44 lead with three minutes to play as they cruised to the low-scoring win.

Who stood out
The double-double by Porterfield was his first of the season and his 14 boards were a career-best. He's averaging 20.0 points and 8.7 rebounds and is shooting 77.8 percent fromt he floor with five blocks and five steals over his last three games. 

Foster scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 3-of-4 free throws. He added seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Demogerontas had 14 points and eight rebounds. 

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 6 in the NABC Coaches and No. 3 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls ... This was IUP's 24th straight home victory, the second longest streak under head coach Joe Lombardi (30 straight, 2009-09 to 2010-11 seasons) ... The 65 points marks IUP's lowest scoring output of the season as the Hawks entered the game averaging 93.5 points ... This was the second time this season IUP has held an opponent under 50 points (Virginia State, 45) ... The Hawks won the battle of the boards 42-to-22 ... IUP has a +19.3 scoring margin in its four PSAC victories.

Up next
The Hawks look to sweep its home weekend when they host Shippensburg (6-3, 3-1 PSAC) Sunday at 3 p.m.

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