INDIANA, Pa. - The No. 7-ranked IUP men's basketball team (5-0, 0-0 PSAC) heads into December and its league schedule this weekend with road games at Kutztown (2-3, 0-0 PSAC) and West Chester (5-0, 0-0 PSAC). IUP will tipoff with both teams this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Crimson Hawks were last in action on Saturday, cruising past Virginia State 97-45 in the Kovalchick Complex. Kutztown has won two straight after opening the season with three straight losses while West Chester is one of five undefeated PSAC teams. 

TIPOFF NOTES
>> Jr. G Armoni Foster had his first career triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the win over Virginia State. His performance earned him PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors. 
>> Sr. G Shawndale Jones had a quiet 25 points on 11-14 FGs and 2-2 FTs. It was his fourth 20-point game. 
>> IUP shot 67.8 pct. (40-59) Saturday, its best outing since shooting 68.1 pct. against SRU in February 2017.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 11-3 in PSAC openers under HC Joe Lombardi, including four straight wins.
>> IUP has swept its season-opening PSAC crossover games each of the last four years.
>> Lombardi is 8-4 lifetime against Kutztown including three straight wins. He carries a 10-5 record against West Chester that includes three wins all during the 2018-19 season. 
>> The Crimson Hawks are 2-3 against West Chester on the road since the 2011-12 season.
>> IUP leads the PSAC in scoring (95.6), field goal pct. (.557), 3FG pct. (.430), 3FGs made/game (9.8), rebound margin (+11.0), and assists/game (20.8), The Hawks are also 2nd in scoring margin (+28.8), and steals/game (11.6). 
>> The Crimson Hawks have scored at least 90 points in each of their last four games, averaging 97.8 during that stretch with an average scoring margin of +29.8. 
>> Sr. G Shawndale Jones leads the PSAC and ranks 6th in Division II with 25.6 PPG. 
>> Jr. G Armoni Foster heads into the weekend with 986 points and is looking to become the 35th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
>> Kutztown enters the weekend with a 2-3 record.
>> The Golden Bears have won two straight games over Penn State Berks (115-46) and Goldey-Beacom (78-74).
>> Wesley Butler ranks 7th in the PSAC in scoring at 19.8 PPG, including 29 points at GBC.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOLDEN RAMS
>> West Chester enters the weekend with a 5-0 record. 
>> The Golden Rams are ranked No. 6 in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region poll. 
>> Five players average double-figures in scoring while Matt Dade averages a double-double (14.0 & 10.0). 

IUP IN THE POLLS
>> The Crimson Hawks moved up two spots in the NABC Coaches' Poll to No. 7 this week.
>> IUP is also No. 3 in this week's D2SIDA Media Poll.
>> It's the 36th time in the last 38 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 have won five straight to start the season. 
>> This is the ninth time in the last 12 seasons IUP has opened with five straight victories.
>> IUP's best start under Lombardi was 14-0 to open the 2017-18 and 2013-14 seasons.

HAWKS HOT OFFENSE PROVIDES FIREWORKS
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 6th in Division II with a 95.6 scoring average.
>> The Hawks have scored at least 87 points all five games, including a season-high 106 against Le Moyne. 
>> IUP also leads the nation with a 55.7 FG%. The Hawks have shot better than 63.5 percent twice.
>> IUP leads the PSAC with 9.8 made 3s per game. 
>> The Hawks' 20.8 assists per game is 6th 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.
>> All five starters are averaging better than 11.3 PPG. 

CRASHING THE GLASS
>> IUP leads the PSAC and ranks 14th in Division II with a rebound margin of +11.0 through five games. 
>> IUP has won the rebound battle in all four of five games by at least +8, including a 46-24 (+22) advantage in the win over Bowie State. 
>> 5th yr. F Tommy Demogerontas leads IUP and ranks 4th in the PSAC with 10.4 RPG.
>> Led by Demogerontas, four Hawks average at least 4.8 rebounds.
>> Opponents are averaging 31.6 RPG, best in the PSAC.

IUP SUCCESSFUL AT HOME
>> The Crimson Hawks have won 22 straight home games dating back to the 2019-20 season, including games played last year. 
>> IUP's longest home win streak during the Lombardi Era is 30 straight victories. That streak ran from the 2008-09 season to the 2010-11 season.
>> IUP also won 22 straight home games under Lombardi between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
>> IUP is 41-2 (.953) at home since 2018-19 and 127-16 (.888) 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 AMONG NATION'S TOP SCORERS
>> Sr. G Shawndale Jones leads the PSAC and is 6th in Division II with 25.6 PPG through five games. 
>> He has four 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. 
>> Jones is 9th in the PSAC with a 57.0 FG%. He's shot at least 53 percent in four of five games.
>> Jones is 11th in the PSAC with a 84.6 FT%. His 22 made free throws are tied for 8th in the conference and his 26 attempts are tied for 11th.
>> Jones was 4th on the team with 10.1 PPG in 2019-20 and was the PSAC Tournament MVP. 

FOSTER GETTING IT DONE ALL OVER THE COURT
>> Jr. G Armoni Foster is averaging 16.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 7.4 APG, to go along with 9 steals and 5 blocks.
>> Foster is coming of his first career triple-double, going for 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against Virginia State. He was named PSAC West Athlete of the Week. 
>> Foster has two double-doubles this year. He had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists against Concord and 17 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds against Le Moyne.
>> Foster has at least 1 block in four games.
>> Foster has 986 career points, including 57 points scored in three games in 2020-21.
>> Foster was a 2020 Preseason All-American by the Basketball Times.  

DEMOGERONTAS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE THREAT
>> 5th yr. F Tommy Demogerontas is averaging 13.6 PPG and a team-best 10.4 RPG this year.
>> He has two double-doubles this season - 16/15 against WV Wesleyan and 23/15 against Bowie State.
>> The 15 boards against Wesleyan and Bowie State is a career-high. 
>> Through 12 career games in an IUP uniform, including three in 2020-21, he has four double-doubles.
>> Demogerontas is 2nd in the PSAC and 30th in Division II with a 65.0 FG%. 
>> He's also a threat from 3-point range, going 4-4 in the win over Bowie State.