INDIANA, Pa. – The top-ranked IUP men's basketball team forced 19 turnovers and used a key defensive stretch in the first half to take care of business and stay undefeated, knocking off Gannon by a 74-58 count on Saturday afternoon at the KCAC.
IUP (22-0, 16-0) set the program's second longest winning streak at 22 games with Saturday's victory. The Hawks got another 20-point effort from
Shawndale Jones, the conference's leading scorer, finishing with 25 points on the night.
Dave Morris, an Erie native, added 17 points with eight rebounds, while
Tomiwa Sulaiman electrified once again with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Hawks led for over 32 minutes of the game, stretching their regular season winning streak to 33 straight games, dating back to 2021-22.
Jaylen Stewart added six points as the Hawks went with an inside rotation of
Damir Brooks, Sulaiman,
Callum MacNamara and
Ousmane Diop in place of
Ethan Porterfield, who was out of the lineup on Saturday.
Gannon (2-18, 2-14) got a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds from Demetrius Mims. Josh Omojafo added 14 points, while Chris Clancy had 12. Gannon shot 43.1% for the game, including 52.5% in the second half, but fell behind double digits in the first half.
IUP stretched its 12 point halftime lead to as many as 26 points midway through the second half.
IUP used a 15-1 run over the last six minutes of the half, taking a 36-24 edge into intermission. The Hawks held Gannon without a field goal over the final 6:21 of the opening half, forcing GU into four turnovers during that span.
Gannon would not get within single figures in the second half, slicing the deficit to 11 points twice over the final 20 minutes. The Hawks moved the advantage to 20 points for large chunks of the second half.
The Hawks placed two in double figures over the initial 20 minutes, with Jones (13) and Morris (10) pacing the squad in scoring.
Tomiwa Sulaiman posted nine points, while Morris gathered in seven rebounds in the opening stanza.
In a slow start for both sides, Gannon held the narrow advantage about six minutes in. Jones received a slick fastbreak feed from Morris, handing the momentum back to IUP at 13-12. Cenrker Evran broke a 21-21 tie for the Knights' last field goal of the half before Morris answered back with a triple at 5:59.
The three from Morris kickstarted the final run for IUP, which held a 7-0 advantage in second-chance points in the opening half. Morris canned a triple at 13:56, which lifted IUP ahead by 21 at 51-30.
The Hawks controlled the second half as Gannon did not threaten over the final 16 minutes.
Up Next
IUP is set for a quick turnaround, visiting Mercyhurst on Monday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
