SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Number-one seeded IUP men's basketball used a key stretch at the start of the second half before holding off a final charge from East Stroudsburg with a combination of volume foul shooting and stout defense as part of a 67-64 win on Saturday afternoon in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Semifinals.
IUP (29-1) battled back and eventually held on in a contest with seven ties and 12 lead changes.
Ethan Porterfield fired in 20 points, knocking down a trio of three-pointers in the second half, adding five rebounds, four steals and three assists in leading the Hawks.
Porterfield, who was the MVP of last year's PSAC and Atlantic Region tournaments, drilled a hesitation three with just under one minute remaining for a 65-59 lead and IUP closed it out down the stretch. East Stroudsburg (23-8) had a potential game-tying three from Carlos Peppin rim out in an ultra-competitive second half.
The Warriors led for the majority of the first half before IUP quickly erased the deficit in the second half, maintaining the narrow edge for much of the final 20 minutes.
Dave Morris and
Shawndale Jones posted 16 points each for the Hawks, which advance to their fourth straight PSAC Championship game.
Tomiwa Sulaiman added nine points and 11 rebounds for IUP, which went to the line 24 times in the second half.
Despite a slow start for IUP, the Hawks narrowed the gap heading into halftime, trailing 32-27. IUP was down by as many as 11 in the first half and battled back to slice the deficit to five. The Hawks stayed the course, moving back in front after some strong outside shooting early in the second half.
The Hawks turned a four-point halftime deficit into a two-point lead over the initial three minutes of the stanza. IUP shot 40% for the game after the slow start offensively, adding 20 foul shots and seven three-pointers to notch the team's seventh consecutive win.
IUP held a 2-0 lead at the game's initial media timeout. IUP forced ESU into five early turnovers and limited the Warriors to 0-for-9 from the floor to start the contest.
The Crimson Hawks had four turnovers of their own in the opening six minutes, clinging to a 2-0 lead. Peppin got the Warriors on the board with a triple at 14:03 with both sides struggling to take care of the ball.
In transition, David Duda expanded the ESU to 8-4 before
KJ Rhodes responded on the other end with a slicing basket. ESU eventually worked its advantage to 15-6 with under nine minutes remaining in the first half, part of a 12-2 scoring spurt.
IUP slowly battled back, gaining some momentum on a steal from Porterfield and go-ahead pass to Sulaiman for a dunk. Sulaiman later added a pair of foul shots with IUP 17-12. The Warriors began to find their shooting touch as the opening half ticked under five minutes, expanding the lead to 28-17 over the Hawks.
ESU went 5-for-10 from deep over the initial 16 minutes, while IUP was just one of their first nine triples in that span of the first half. The Hawks ran off seven of the final nine points in the first half, which included a triple from Porterfield, to get back within 32-27.
IUP quickly erased its halftime deficit following treys from Porterfield and Morris, the second of which pushed IUP in front at 36-33. Porterfield nailed a straightaway triple at 13:18 of the second half for a 41-40 lead before the Warriors answered right back in a tightly contested playoff clash.
With the intensity picking up, IUP pushed its advantage to 48-46 following a foul shot from Jones at 9:26, the ninth of the half on the Warriors. IUP continued its hot outside shooting in the second half, moving ahead on a triple from
Dallis Dillard, which came off an offensive rebound from
Damir Brooks.
The Hawks maintained a slim margin with time ticking down under the six-minute mark of the half, converting six of eight field goals for a 57-54 edge. The Warriors stayed within striking distance with some aggressive offense and accurate foul shooting, down 57-56.
IUP held on down the stretch despite a pair of ESU triples with under one minute remaining.
Up Next
IUP faces Mercyhurst for the PSAC Championship on Sunday, March 5 at 3:00 p.m.
Follow
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