INDIANA, Pa. - The third-ranked IUP men's basketball team put together a huge first half and junior guard Armoni Foster scored a game-high 21 points as the Crimson Hawks defeated Seton Hill 78-53 Saturday night at the Kovalchick Complex.

The win for IUP clinched the program's sixth straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division regular season title, No. 1 seed and home court advantage in the upcoming conference tournament. It's also the 11th division crown in the last 12 full seasons for the Hawks.

The win also gave the Hawks their ninth straight victory, equaling their season-best, as they improved to 24-2 overall and 18-2 in league play. They have a full two-game lead on second place Mercyhurst, which they swept in the regular season. 

How it happened
The Crimson Hawks scored early and often, racing out to a 13-point lead at 17-4 before seven minutes of game clock had passed. IUP later went on a 13-4 run to get its lead to 20 points at 30-10 with just under nine minutes left to play in the half. The lead reached as many as 27 points before the Hawks took a 47-22 lead into the break.

Seven IUP players were in the scoring column after the first 20 minutes of play, with Foster, sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield, and freshman forward Tomiwa Sulaiman each scoring 10 points. The Hawks converted 15-of-28 (53.6 pct.) from the field with five 3-pointerfs, and took advantage of frequent trips to the foul line by going 12-of-15. They also outrebounded Seton Hill 21-to-10. 

The Hawks used an 11-0 run in the second half, keyed by 3-pointers on three straight possessions, to go on top by 30 points. Sophomore guard KJ Rhodes helped to fuel the run with two of those 3-pointers. The lead reached as many as 35 points at 69-34 with 7:50 to play as the benches began to empty and IUP cruised the rest of teh way. 

Who stood out
Foster shot 8-of-16 from the floor and went 4-of-5 from the foul line for his 21 points. It was his 13th 20-point game of the season. He added six assists and three steals in 36 minutes. 

Porterfield finished with 13 points and seven rebounds while Sulaiman had 12 points and six boards - both in 21 minutes of action. Junior guard Dave Morris grabbed 10 rebounds and had six assists. Rhodes and redshirt freshman guard Bryce Radford went a combined 5-of-9 from 3-point range. 

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 3 in the NABC Coaches and No. 2 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls ... IUP is also the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings ... This was IUP's fifth straight regular season sweep of Seton Hill, outscoring the Griffins a combined 178-113 in two games this season ... IUP head coach Joe Lombardi is 19-1 lifetime against Seton Hill ... IUP is 72-6 in PSAC West games since the 2016-17 season, including 36-2 at home ... Foster is 14th in IUP history with 1,438 career points. 

Up next
The Crimson Hawks enter the final week of the regular season with two more home games. They'll host Clarion (9-16, 5-15 PSAC) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and Pitt-Johnstown (19-7, 15-5 PSAC) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

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