INDIANA, Pa. - Junior guard Armoni Foster scored 30 points to help lead the No. 4 IUP men's basketball team to a 60-51 win over No. 21 Mercyhurst Saturday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex.

The win completed the regular season sweep of the Lakers as IUP posted a pair of wins over a top-25 opponent. 

The Crimson Hawks improved to 17-2 overall and 11-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The Lakers dropped to 17-4 overall and 11-4 in the conference. 

How it happened
The Crimson Hawks owned the first part of the game, using a 17-1 run to jump out to a 25-7 lead with 7:14 on the clock. Foster scored six of eight IUP points early in the run and later knocked down a 3-pointer and assisting on two more buckets. 

Mercyhurst clawed back into the game with the help of a 9-0 run, eventually cutting its deficit to five points late in the half before IUP took a 34-25 lead into the break.

The Hawks got their lead back to 15 points at 45-30 early in the second half after a free throw by Foster, but again Mercyhurst fought back. With the help of a nine offensive rebounds over a 2:15 span, the Lakers cut the IUP lead to just five at 47-43 with 10:43 to play. The Hawks were also called for six fouls over a short period and were held scoreless for 4:10. 

The IUP lead was 51-46 with 7:38 to play when both teams went without scoring for nearly two minutes. Foster put points on the board with a driving layup at the 5:49 mark, the first score of a 7-1 run that gave IUP a 58-47 lead with just under three minutes left. Foster also assisted on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Kyle Polce to put the Hawks comfortably on top by double-figures. 

 The closest the Lakers could get in the closing minutes was seven points at 58-51 with 1:28 to play. 

The IUP defense was big down the stretch, holding Mercyhurst to just two made field goals over the final 11 minutes of play. IUP held the Lakers to a season-low 26.2 field goal percentage for the game.

Despite the strong offensive rebounding in the second half by the Lakers, IUP still held a 49-to-38 advantage on the glass for the game.

Who stood out
Foster tallied his second 30-point game of the season and the fourth of his career. He finished 8-of-20 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and went 11-of-15 from the foul line. He also had six assists, four rebounds and four steals in 39 minutes. 

Freshman forward Tomiwa Sulaiman had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks and sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield grabbed 11 rebounds with three blocks.

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 4 in the NABC Coaches and No. 3 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls ... IUP head coach Joe Lombardi is 21-12 all-time against the Lakers, including 14-4 on his home court ... IUP is 2-0 against ranked opponents this season (both Mercyhurst) and 7-4 against top-25 opponents since the 2016-17 season ... Foster moved into 21st place in IUP history with 1,290 career points.

Up next
IUP will stay at home and host Gannon (9-6, 6-5) on Monday night. Tipoff is 7 p.m. 

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