INDIANA, Pa. - IUP's
Joe Lombardi has been named the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division Men's Basketball Coach of the Year, as the league announced its postseason awards Friday afternoon.
The honor for Lombardi comes a day before he leads his top-seed Crimson Hawks into the PSAC tournament semifinals at the Kovalchick Complex.
In his 16th year on the IUP bench, Lombardi has guided the Hawks to a 27-2 overall record, their sixth straight PSAC West regular season title, and Division II national rankings of No. 3 (coaches) and No. 2 (media) heading into the postseason. He also has the Hawks ranked as a No. 2 seed in the latest Atlantic Region rankings announced by the NCAA Division II Selection Committee this week.
Picked to repeat as division champions, Lombardi and the Hawks have fought through high expectations and individual injuries all season as they're on the verge of their fifth year of 28-plus victories in the last seven full seasons. Four starters have been hurt and missed time this season, including senior guard
Shawndale Jones, who was among national leaders at 25.0 points per game went he was lost for the season in the seventh game of the year.
IUP heads into the PSAC semifinals on a 12-game win streak, also boasting two 9-game win streaks this season. The Hawks went 20-2 in conference play, dominating the West with a 15-1 mark against divisional foes. They've been ranked inside the top-10 all season long, including their current three-week stretch at No. 3 in the NABC poll and No. 2 in the D2SIDA rankings.
This is Lombardi's fourth career PSAC coach of the year honor, also winning it in 2010, 2012 and 2017.
PSAC postseason awards
The Coach of the Year honor for Lombardi and the Crimson Hawks came as the PSAC announced its 2022 basketball awards Friday afternoon. Junior guard
Armoni Foster was named Athlete of the Year, freshman forward
Tomiwa Sulaiman was named Rookie of the Year, while Foster, junior guard
Dave Morris, and sophomore forward
Ethan Porterfield were first team All-PSAC selections.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
