INDIANA, Pa. - The third-ranked IUP men's basketball team put together a balanced effort, winning their 10th straight game with an 81-65 victory over visiting Clarion Wednesday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
It's the longest win streak of the season for the Crimson Hawks, who improved to 25-2 overall and 19-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Four Hawks scored in double-figures Wednesday, led by freshman forward
Tomiwa Sulaiman with 18 points.
How it happened
The Crimson Hawks shot well from the start, hitting on eight of their first 12 shots. They grabbed a double-figure lead at 26-14 on a layup-and-one by junior guard
Armoni Foster with 8:36 to play in the first half.
The first half lead reached as high as 19 points after an 11-3 run before the Hawks went up 41-25 at the break.
IUP assisted on 14 of its 18 first half field goals while junior guard
Dave Morris led all scorers with 11 points.
The Hawks opened the second half on a 12-3 run, hitting on 6-of-8 shots as four players made buckets. The 25-point lead was the biggest of the night for the Hawks as they got all 12 players involved and stayed in front of the Golden Eagles by at least 16 points the rest of the way.
IUP shot 55.2 percent from the floor, its best performance since shooting 56.7 percent in the season's first meeting against Clarion back on January 22. The Hawks had an incredible conversion rate from inside the arc, hitting on 31-of-42 of their 2-point shots. The Hawks also assisted on a season-high 31 of their 37 made buckets and held a 37-to-24 advantage on the glass.
Who stood out
Sulaiman went 9-of-11 from the field for his 18 points, exciting the crowd with four dunks. He added seven rebounds, three assists and a block in 27 minutes.
Morris tallied his second double-double in the last four games with 13 points and 12 assists. He added five rebounds in 34 minutes. Sophomore forward
Ethan Porterfield had 17 points and six boards in 26 minutes, 5th year forward
Tommy Demogerontas came off the bench to finish with 14 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes, and Foster added nine points and 11 assists.
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. 2 seed in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region rankings ... This marked IUP's eighth 25-win season over the last 12 full years ... This is the 10th straight regular season sweep of Clarion ... IUP head coach
Joe Lombardi is 27-4 lifetime against Clarion, including 22 straight wins dating back to 2010-11 ... IUP is 73-6 in PSAC West games since the 2016-17 season, including 37-2 at home ... IUP has won 32 of its last 33 home games ... Foster is 14th in IUP history with 1,447 career points.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks wrap up the regular season on Saturday with their Senior Day game against Pitt-Johnstown (20-7, 16-5 PSAC). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the KCAC.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
