INDIANA, Pa. – The second-ranked IUP men's basketball team will take an unbeaten 10-0 mark into the Christmas break, using a high-energy first half as part of a 69-55 victory on Monday night against West Chester in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover play at the KCAC.
IUP (10-0, 3-0) takes a perfect record into the Christmas break for just the second time in head coach
Joe Lombardi's tenure. Entering the contest second in the nation, IUP is anticipated to slide up to the number one spot in the country following top-ranked Northwest Missouri State's 74-65 setback to No. 22 Emporia State on Monday.
IUP raced ahead to a 40-17 lead at halftime and did not look back, limiting West Chester to 26.9% shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The Hawks collected 15 steals, forcing 21 turnovers from West Chester (6-4, 1-3) on the night.
Veterans
Shawndale Jones and
Dave Morris led the offensive charge for IUP, posting 23 points apiece. Jones surpassed 1,000 career points between his time at NJIT and IUP, becoming the second player in as many days to reach the career scoring milestone for IUP.
Jones added five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes of action. IUP also received a big boost from
Ethan Porterfield, who has not practiced in two weeks following illness. Porterfield dropped in nine points off the bench in 21 minutes, adding three blocks with one rebound and providing a spark to the IUP lineup.
IUP shot 42.1% for the game and added 15 assists on the night. West Chester entered the contest averaging about 80 points per game, looking to shake off a late defeat at Pitt-Johnstown on Sunday afternoon. Kyle McGee was efficient with 17 points (8-13 FG) with eight rebounds.
IUP stormed ahead to an 8-2 lead, later expanding it to 16-4, which included a pair of triples from Morris at 15:28 and 13:40. IUP held West Chester to single digits for nearly 12 minutes in the first half, mounting a 14-point advantage during that time with baskets from Jones and a layup from Porterfield.
IUP continued expanding its sizable lead in the first half with Jones pushing the hosts in front by 23 with a triple to close out the stanza. A second-half layup from
Dallis Dillard extended IUP's advantage to a 29-point edge, its largest of the night at the 17:20 mark.
West Chester was able to find a bit more success on the offensive end, but could not chip away as IUP maintained a double digit lead throughout the entire second half.
Ousmane Diop capped the IUP scoring with a layup inside from Jones, while Anthony Purnell converted a buzzer-beating jumper to close out the crossover clash.
IUP held the edge at the foul line in a physical matchup, going 15-of-19 from the charity stripe. Dillard posted five points, six steals, four rebounds and two assists as part of a complete team effort.
Jaheim Bethea also provided IUP with an extra burst of energy off the bench with three steals.
Up Next
IUP will wait for the next set of National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) rankings, released tomorrow (December 20), before returning to the court at Millersville on Friday, December 30 at 5:00 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
