INDIANA, Pa. – Despite a late push from visiting New Haven, the third-ranked IUP men's basketball team made timely plays on both ends of the floor, securing a 65-60 victory on a busy Saturday inside the KCAC. It marked the 40th home win in the last 41 outings at the KCAC.
IUP (5-0) placed three scorers in double figures, including another 20-point outing from
Shawndale Jones. Jones extended his streak at the foul line to 33 consecutive makes after going 13-for-13 on Saturday. He added eight boards, three assists and three steals in 35 minutes for the Hawks.
Tomiwa Sulaiman posted another double-double with 19 points (8-13 FG) and 11 rebounds, also adding three blocks on the day.
Dallis Dillard added 12 points and
Dave Morris chipped in across the board with nine points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals.
New Haven (2-2) roared back in the second half, knotting the score at 53 and then again at 55 with just over two minutes remaining. The Crimson Hawks used a timely 8-0 and stretched their lead back to 63-55, giving the hosts just enough breathing room to hold on for the victory.
The Chargers placed four in double figures with a team-high 15 points from Tyrone Perry. Majur Majak logged a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Davontrey Thomas canned four three-point field goals, finishing with 14 points.
IUP had five blocks and posted 11 steals, holding a 17-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
New Haven came out firing from beyond the arc, racing ahead 12-7 early following a Thomas triple. A 15-0 spurt in the first half turned the tide, pushing IUP ahead by double figures with 7:16 showing in the first half. Turning defense into offense,
Jaheim Bethea dropped in a jumper from a Dillard steal before a three from Dillard and fastbreak dunk from Sulaiman.
The Chargers trimmed their deficit back to single digits until Jones converted three times at the line, which handed IUP a 33-22 edge going into the intermission. The IUP lead hovered around 10 for several minutes in the second half before the Chargers slowly battled back. A 10-0 scoring run brought New Haven back to within 41-39 around the midway point of the second half.
Damir Brooks charged in for a deflection layup at the 8:47 mark before a Dillard jumper pushed IUP to a 51-44 lead. Quashawn Lane finished a driving layup through contact, sinking the and-one foul shot and tying the score at 53. Majur finished underneath about two minutes later, knotting the score at 55.
The Hawks used a timely 8-0 run, which included four consecutive points at the foul line as New Haven looked to extend the game. A triple from Perry made it a one-possession contest at 63-60 with six seconds left.
Jones extended his streak of made foul shots to finish out the contest and account for the final 65-60 margin.
Up Next
IUP heads east for a tricky back-to-back in the conference opener, coming against Mansfield and Bloomsburg on December 2 and 3.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
