JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The IUP men's basketball team escaped with a 73-72 victory following an intense second half at Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
 
A back-and-forth matchup that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes, IUP (10-5, 7-2) erased a six-point deficit in the second half and held on down the stretch in an entertaining second half.
 
After an IUP turnover gave Pitt-Johnstown (5-11, 3-7) the ball down one point with 13 seconds left, the Crimson Hawks got a timely turnover of their own as Ethan Porterfield stepped in front of a long inbounds pass. With 10 seconds left, UPJ corralled the rebound on a missed front end of a one-and-one, racing up the floor trailing 73-72. Ryan Smith spotted up from the right side with a jumper for the Mountain Cats, but the potential game-winner would not fall as IUP escaped with the one-point win.
 
Garvin Clarke dazzled for IUP with a career night and a double-double, setting career highs with 27 points (11-22 FG) and 10 rebounds, also matching a career best with five steals over 40 minutes for the Crimson Hawks. KJ Rhodes provided some key sequences for the visitors in the second half with a career-best 11 points, nine rebounds (eight offensive) and six assists.
 
Bryce Radford added 15 points (5-13 3FG), while Jaylen Stewart notched nine points. As a team, IUP shot 39.7% from the floor.
 
Porterfield tallied just six points, but was still impactful in a big way with 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks. For the Mountain Cats, Nick Watts posted a team-high 19 points (9-12 FG) off the bench, adding seven rebounds.
 
Andy Zuchelli and Andy Smith notched 18 points each, while Will Kromka added 12 points of his own. The Mountain Cats took a six-point lead at 64-58, holding the advantage until the 5:26 mark before IUP did just enough on both sides of the ball to emerge victorious.
 
In a slow offensive start for both sides, UPJ held a 4-2 edge at the first media timeout of the night. Consecutive baskets lifted IUP to an 11-9 advantage, which included two triples for Bryce Radford.
 
Both sides remained under 35% from the floor as IUP held a slim 14-13 edge. KJ Rhodes posted three early assists for IUP, seeing some key minutes in the early going off the bench. Clarke canned a triple for his ninth point of the first half before Rhodes dropped in a trey of his own for a 22-17 edge.
 
The offense became more free flowing with Watts delivering a quick 10 points off the bench for the Mountain Cats. Stewart stuck a jumper in response as IUP maintained a 28-24 advantage with under four minutes left in the first half. A pair of quick baskets extended the IUP lead to 33-27 with time ticking away in the first half.
 
UPJ went into the half with some momentum as Watts found Andy Zuchelli with a go-ahead pass the length of the floor, finishing before the buzzer and slicing the IUP advantage to 33-29. The Hawks shot 38.2% from the floor, getting a game-high 11 points from Clarke in the opening half.  Despite some sluggish offense, both teams shared the ball well in the first half.
 
Clarke banked in a shot from beyond the arc for a 38-31 edge. The teams traded scores as IUP clung to a 43-42 advantage in the second half at the initial media timeout, coming at the 15:08 mark. UPJ made five of its initial eight shots to begin the second half and get back within one.
 
Radford converted a timely basket for the Hawks, regaining the lead at 46-44 from the left wing. Watts responded with five points of his own before Radford countered back with his fourth and fifth triples of the evening, pushing IUP to a 54-51 edge as part of a shooting flurry for both sides.
 
A wide open look for Kromka stretched the UPJ lead to 62-56 midway through the second half, part of a 11-2 blitz for the Mountain Cats. UPJ shot the ball near a 70% clip for much of the second half, using a 23-11 spurt to take the lead out of the intermission. A pair of underneath baskets from Rhodes knotted the score at 64 apiece before Sarp Furtun knocked down a kickout feed from Rhodes to regain the lead, all part of an 11-2 scoring surge for the Hawks.
 
Following a scoreless stretch with the score tied at 67, Clarke registered a steal on one end before sinking a career-high 25th point with a jumper, providing IUP a two-point edge. Rhodes beat the shot clock with an offensive putback after saving the ball off a UPJ player just seconds earlier, widening the margin to 71-67 with under one minute remaining.
 
UPJ did not go quietly as Kromka converted from distance in the left quarter, trimming the IUP lead to 73-72 with 18 seconds remaining. Each team traded turnovers down the stretch before Smith's potential game-winner bounced out.
 
Up Next
IUP welcomes Edinboro to the KCAC on Saturday, January 20 for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on X (Twitter) @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.  
 

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