EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Junior guard Dave Morris scored a game-high 21 points to help lead the two-seed IUP men's basketball team to national semifinal berth with a 67-55 win over Hillsdale in the opening round of the Elite Eight on Tuesday night at the Ford Center. 

The postseason run continues for the Crimson Hawks, who move on to the national semifinals boasting an 18-game win streak after tonight's victory. This will be the fifth national semifinal game in program history, the third under head coach Joe Lombardi (2010, 2015). 

The Hawks will play three-seed Augusta on Thursday. 

IUP improved to 33-2 with the victory, tying the program record for wins in a season. The 2009-10 team finished 33-3 during its national runner-up finish. 

How it happened
Despite some tight scores at the end of the first half, the game never seemed in doubt for the PSAC and Atlantic Region champs. The Hawks made seven of their first eight shots as they raced out to a 15-5 lead through seven minutes of action. Junior guard Armoni Foster scored seven early points, drilling a 3-pointer to give IUP a 9-2 lead less than five minutes in. 

With Hillsdale (23-8) drawing near later in the half, a pair of freshmen combined to score seven straight points, with Dallis Dillard knocking down a 3-pointer while Tomiwa Sulaiman did his work down low to put the Hawks on top 22-10 under the midway point of the half. 

The Chargers used timely plays by their All-American Patrick Cartier to chip away at that lead, going on a 13-1 run over a 6-minute stretch to cut the Hawks' lead to 24-23 with just over three minutes before the break. A layup by redshirt freshman Bryce Radford gave IUP a 30-27 lead going into the half.

The Hawks came out hot in the second half, using a 12-2 run to take a 42-29 lead after a layup by Sulaiman. From there the Hawks never looked back, keeping a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the night. 

Morris was lights out in the second half, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with five 3-pointers. One of those treys gave IUP a 17-point lead at 55-38 with 9:10 remaining. The Hawks also took 17-point leads after a 3-pointer by sophomore forward Ethan Porterfield and a huge slam dunk by Sulaiman. 

The Crimson Hawks shot 52.7 percent from the field, their best shooting performance of the postseason. IUP drilled nine 3-pointers and outrebounded the Chargers 37-to-31.

Who stood out
Morris had one of his most efficient shooting nights of the season, scoring his 21 points on 8-of-13 field goals, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes. It was Morris' sixth 20-point game of the year.

Sulaiman posted his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 9-of-11 from the field and had three steals in 32 minutes. Porterfield added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, a block and a steal in 35 minutes.

Notes
IUP is making its 18th all-time NCAA tournament appearance, including its 11th under head coach Joe Lombardi since the 2009 season ... IUP is making its first Elite Eight trip since 2015, which was also hosted in Evansville ... Lombardi is 22-9 in NCAA tournament games, including 3-0 in the national quarterfinal round ... The Hawks are 2-2 in national semifinal games, including wins in 2010 and 2015 under Lombardi ... Tonight's win was the 33rd of the year, tying the program record for wins in a season (2009-10) ... It was the 18th straight win, tying Lombardi's career-high for consecutive victories (2016-17) ... IUP is 36-3 in February and March over the last three full seasons, including 13-1 away from home ... This was IUP's first game away from home since February 16 (34 days) ... IUP is 12-1 away from home this season with a scoring margin of 15.0 points. 

Up next
IUP will face Augusta out of the Southeast Region on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. EST, 5:30 p.m. CST on CBS Sports Network. The winner will advance to the national championship game on Saturday.

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