CALIFORNIA, Pa. - IUP men's basketball trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half but the 10th-ranked Crimson Hawks outscored Cal U by 22 in the second to put an exclamation mark on an 84-71 victory Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. 

Three Crimson Hawks went for 20-plus points in the comeback, led by 23 from sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield. Junior guard Dave Morris netted a career-high 22 points while junior guard Armoni Foster tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. It was the first game this season IUP had three with more than 20 points in the same game. 

IUP improved to 11-1 overall and 5-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The Vulcans fell to 8-4 and 3-3. 

How it happened
The Vulcans started hot, opening up a double-figure lead at 15-5 just over four minutes into the night. On the other side, a normally high-scoring IUP offense couldn't find the net early on making just two of its first nine shots as the Vulcans continued to build on their lead. 

That advantage reached 17 points at 29-12 at the 9:14 mark as the Vulcans finished up a 9-0 run. That's when the Hawks started chipping away at their deficit, as Morris knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 36-24 game with just under four minutes left in the half. That trey was part of a 10-4 run for the Hawks, as Morris drilled his third first half 3-pointer to make it a 40-31 game heading into the half. 

Morris and Porterfield knocked down early second half 3-pointers as a 9-2 run cut IUP's deficit to 44-40. IUP then took its first lead of the game at the 14:34 mark, with Porterfield hitting another 3-pointer to make it 47-45. Porterfield knocked down a career-high five treys on seven attempts as he tied his career-high in point production. Morris also drained five 3-pointers on 12 attempts. 

The Vulcans did tie the game and later grabbed a 51-50 lead, but IUP responded with an 8-0 run and led by at least four points the rest of the way, closing the night out with the final seven points in the final minute to clinch the comeback. 

Cal U still outshot the Hawks - 43.9 pct. to 40.9 pct. - but IUP forced 13 turnovers, didn't allow a 3-pointer, and held the advantage on the glass in the second half.

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 10 in the NABC Coaches and No. 9 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls ... The double-double by Foster was his third of the season ... Foster also leads Division II with two triple-doubles ... This was IUP's 15th straight win in the series dating back to 2014 ... The Hawks improved to 12-3 in PSAC West openers under head coach Joe Lombardi ... Lombardi is now 26-6 lifetime against Cal U, including 6-0 against current coach Danny Sancomb ... IUP also improved to 52-3 in January over the last six full seasons, including 27-2 on the road during that time ... The 71 points by Cal U was its second lowest output of the season (70 vs. Shippensburg). 

Up next
The Crimson Hawks play in their final PSAC crossover of the regular season on Saturday when they travel to Lock Haven (4-5, 1-4). Tipoff is 3 p.m.

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