INDIANA, Pa. – Facing one of the top offensive teams in the country, top-ranked IUP men's basketball answered the challenge on the defensive end in a 67-53 triumph against 25th-ranked East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon at the KCAC.
IUP (20-0, 14-0) keeps its unbeaten record in tact and continues its stellar run of success in home games over the last few seasons.
Tomiwa Sulaiman scored 14 points after halftime, finishing with a double-double for the game with 18 and 10.
Shawndale Jones also added 18 points for IUP, passing out six assists in the victory.
East Stroudsburg (15-5, 9-5) forced IUP into a season-high 18 turnovers with its press defense, getting back to within five points in the second half. IUP countered with a key 11-2 spurt, which turned a 33-28 lead into a 44-30 edge with 12:41 remaining. The Warriors, who shot 41.4% for the game, could not get back within single digits the rest of the way.
ESU entered the game fourth nationally in scoring offense at over 90 points/game, but were limited to a season-low 53 points. IUP collected 12 steals on the night, coming from eight different players and shot 46.1% in the second half to pull away. The Hawks have now won 31 consecutive regular season games dating back to last season, extending their home winning streak to 25 at the KCAC.
Lakeem McAliley guided the Warrior offense in the first half, finishing with 15 points in 28 minutes. Jaelen McGlone and Carlos Peppin added 13 points each.
Dave Morris added 11 points and three steals for the Hawks, while
Dallis Dillard posted another strong outing with six points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal.
In a hard-fought opening half, both sides cooled off over the final few minutes behind some aggressive defense. The Hawks took a 33-22 lead into the intermission with Jones leading the charge with 11 points.
IUP uncharacteristically committed eight turnovers in the first half, due in large part to the full court press of the Warriors. Meanwhile, ESU had 11 first half turnovers, limited to just 38.5% from the floor in the initial 20 minutes. McAliley posted 11 first half points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Mike Millsip pulled in six rebounds.
IUP jumped ahead by one with a layin at 16:07, expanding the lead to six with a triple from Morris. The Hawks pressed the advantage to 10 with consecutive triples at 12:16 and 11:09, maintaining a double figure edge for most of the half from there.
Off an offensive rebound from Sulaiman, Jones converted underneath for the Hawks largest lead of the stanza at 33-18. The Warriors answered with three consecutive buckets to open the second half, getting back to within five at 33-28 with 16:48 remaining.
Dave Morris answered with a three before IUP went back ahead by 10 with dunks from Sulaiman and Dillard.
Navigating the press better in the second half, the Hawks withstood a final push from ESU. Sulaiman handed all the momentum to the Hawks with an emphatic dunk with under three minutes remaining, finishing through contact for a 17-point advantage.
Up Next
IUP visits Seton Hill for road action on Wednesday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m
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