INDIANA, Pa. - The seventh-ranked IUP men's basketball team erased an early 16-point deficit to rally for an 87-79 win over visiting Cal U Wednesday night, fending off an upset-minded Vulcans squad at the Kovalchick Complex.

IUP freshman forward Tomiwa Sulaiman scored a season-high 26 points, leading three Crimson Hawks in double-figures as they put together another big comeback victory. 

It was the sixth straight victory for the Hawks, who improved to 21-2 overall and keep their one-game lead in the PSAC West with a 15-2 conference record. Cal U dropped to 15-6 overal and 10-5 in league play.

This was the 16th straight victory for the Hawks in the series dating back to the 2013-14 season. 

How it happened
The Vulcans came out firing and took total control of the game from the start, hitting seven of their first nine shots to take a 17-6 lead. IUP opened the game just 2-of-10 from the field in the first seven minutes while the Vulcans stayed hot and grabbed a 24-8 lead at the 13:17 mark. 

Sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield knocked down a 3-pointer to jumpstart a 10-2 IUP run over the next two minutes as the Hawks started to chip away at the Cal U lead. 

A layup by Sulaiman with just under eight minutes left cut IUP's deficit to six points at 30-24 and another 3-pointer by Porterfield capped a 7-0 run as the Vulcans held onto a 33-31 lead with 5:18 left in the half. Two more exciting plays - a dunk by Sulaiman and a third trey by Porterfield - kept the Vulcans lead at two before they went into the break with a 43-39 lead. 

After the Hawks fell behind by 16 points early, they outscored the Vulcans 28-14 over a 9:33 span to close the gap to 38-36 with 3:44 left. 

IUP grabbed its first lead of the game early in the second half as freshman guard Dallis Dillard knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, making it a 45-43 game. The treys started a 14-4 run over a 3:19 span as the Hawks went 6-of-8 from the field with three 3-pointers to take a 55-47 lead. 

The Vulcans came back to tie the game at 62-62 with 7:56 to play and trailed by one point a minute later, but that's the closest they would get the rest of the way. IUP grabbed a 73-67 lead with just over five minutes left before both teams went scoreless for the next 2:12. Free throws by Sulaiman at the 1:14 mark put IUP on top 79-70 as it became a game of quick fouls and free throws. A pair from the line by Porterfield with 21 seconds left gave IUP an 8-point lead and essentially iced the game. 

Both teams found themselves in foul trouble as they combined for 45 fouls. A player from each team fouled out. The Hawks finished 28-of-35 at the foul line, tying their season-high in made free throws. IUP also committed a season-low six turnovers while forcing the Vulcans into 19. Cal U outshot IUP 50.8 percent to 37.9 percent. 

Who stood out
Sulaiman finished 10-of-15 from the field and went 6-of-6 from the foul line to score his 26 points. He also had eight rebounds, three steals and a block in 32 minutes. 

Porterfield scored 23 points to go along with six rebounds, three steals and a block. He shot 4-of-9 from the field with three 3-pointers, and went a career-best 12-of-13 at the foul line.

Foster scored 19 points, had eight rebounds and four assists. He shot 5-of-19 from the field but took advantage of Cal U's fouls to go 8-of-12 at the line. 

Notes
IUP entered the game ranked No. 7 in the NABC Coaches and No. 4 in the D2SIDA Media Top 25 polls ... IUP head coach Joe Lombardi improved to 27-6 lifetime against the Vulcans, including the 16 straight wins ... IUP is 69-6 in PSAC West games since the 2016-17 season, including 35-2 at home ... IUP has won 30 of its last 31 home games dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, including 12-1 this year ... Foster moved into 17th place in IUP history with 1,374 career points. 

Up next
The Crimson Hawks head into their final five games of the regular season this Saturday when they travel to Erie to face Gannon. Tipoff at the Hammermill Center 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.