INDIANA, Pa. - In a classic matchup between two division rivals Sunday night at the Kovalchick Complex, the IUP men's basketball team defeated Mercyhurst 58-55 to advance to the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship game.
The Crimson Hawks will play another familiar foe in Cal U in Tuesday's regional final. The Vulcans won their regional semifinal matchup with West Virginia State 67-65 earlier in the night.
IUP won its 16th straight game and improved to 31-2 on the year. The program will be making its its ninth all-time Sweet Sixteen appearance.
How it happened
The Crimson Hawks were hot early as 3-pointers by sophomore forward
Ethan Porterfield and fifth-year forward
Tommy Demogerontas helped give IUP a 10-1 lead before the first media timeout. Freshman guard
Kyle Polce got into the action with his own triple moments later to make it a 13-1 game.
The Lakers battled back to make it a two-point game at 15-13 but the Hawks regained control and a trey by junior guard
Armoni Foster put IUP on top 27-17 with 3:25 to play in the half. After a small Mercyhurst surge, freshman guard
Dallis Dillard hit a 3-pointer on IUP's last possession as the Hawks took a 30-22 lead into the break.
The run continued in the second half for the Hawks as they grabbed a 36-22 lead after a free throw by junior guard
Dave Morris. But once again the Lakers regained their composure and used an 11-0 run to cut IUP's lead to one point at 40-39 nearing the midway poing of the second half.
It remained close the rest of the way, as the Lakers grabbed their first lead of the game at 51-50 on a 3-pointer by Michael Bradley with 4:08 to play. Porterfield gave IUP a 54-51 lead after four straight free throws but the Lakers went back on top 55-54 after a pair of free throws and then a bucket with 1:28 left. Porterfield was again money from the line, giving the Hawks a 56-55 lead.
With the clock winding down, the Lakers tried to take the lead but Dillard drew a charge with 8.4 seconds to play and Porterfield added to the lead with free throws on the other end. As Mercyhurst looked for a 3-pointer to tie the game in the closing seconds, the IUP defense didn't allow a good look or a shot as the Hawks came out on top of the classic conference clash.
For the fifth straight game the Hawks held their opponent under 40 percent shooting as the Vulcans converted just 36.0 percent (18-of-50) from the field. IUP also won the battle of the boards 36-to-31 and forced 14 turnovers.
Who stood out
Porterfield finished with a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and made 11-of-12 from the foul line.
Dillard grabbed 10 rebounds and Morris finished with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Notes
IUP is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship for the third straight eligible season ... IUP is making its 18th all-time NCAA tournament appearance, including its 11th under head coach
Joe Lombardi since the 2009 season ... Lombardi is 20-9 in NCAA tournament games ... IUP is 9-5 in NCAA second round games ... This is Lombardi's fourth 30-win season since 2009-10 ... IUP is 20-1 at home this season and 38-1 since the start of the 2019-20 season ... IUP is 34-3 in February and March over the last three full seasons ... Foster has 604 points, ninth in program single season history.
Up next
IUP will face Cal U in another PSAC battle in Tuesday's regional final. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at the Kovalchick Complex. The winner will advace to the Division II Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana, March 22-26.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
