ASHLAND, Ohio – The IUP men's basketball team secured their first two victories of the season during the Ashland University Classic over the weekend.
 
On Saturday, November 16, IUP triumphed over Tiffin 78-73 in an overtime thriller, followed by a 75-72 victory over Ashland on Sunday, November 17.
 
TIFFIN
Christian Moore had an impressive showing against Tiffin after shooting 8-14 FG, shot four 3PT, and went 6-8 in free throws. He added six rebounds, three assists, and totaled 26 points playing 42 minutes. Kymani Merraro chipped in with 15 points and a steal, while Damir Brooks posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The game started strong for IUP as Brooks won the tip, setting up Moore to knock down a three-pointer to put the Hawks on the board first. Brooks followed with a layup and then energized the bench with a dunk at the 18:10 mark, giving IUP a 7-2 lead.
 
Moore added two more threes to go three for three. Six minutes in, Ian Herring added a triple of his own, stretching IUP's lead to nine.
 
The scoring drought ended when Herring passed to Grove for a layup, adding one at 6:49 to go. Merraro banged a three at 6:02 from the right wing, pushing the lead to 12 points. Moore added a layup, totaling 13 points on the night so far. Merraro's deep three gave IUP their biggest lead of the night, a commanding 17 points with just under five minutes remaining.
 
The Hawks headed into the half with a 13-point lead over Tiffin, 40-27.
 
In the second, IUP slowly lost their lead after several missed opportunities, Tiffin tied the score at 48-48 with 10 minutes left in regulation. The teams traded points until Tiffin managed to get ahead by six points.  A three pointer and layup by Moore tied the game to send it into overtime. 
 
IUP finished the game with two made free throws from both Moore and Grove that finalized the game at 78-73 to produce the Hawks's first win of the 2024 season.
 
ASHLAND
Moore produced another show after tallying 25 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Merraro added 14 points, shot 4-8 from the arc, totaled three rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. Sarp Furton was on the floor for 30 minutes, shot 4-6 FG, added eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
 
The Hawks found themselves in an early hole, trailing by eight points before back-to-back threes from Merraro and another from Luke Triggs trimmed Ashland's lead to one. However, IUP struggled to maintain momentum, falling behind by 14 after multiple missed opportunities from beyond the arc. Just before halftime, Merraro's layup cut the deficit to 43-36.

Moore sparked the Hawks' offense to start the second half, hitting a three-pointer and a layup to bring IUP within two. Furton followed with a layup to tie the game at 43-43 with 18:48 remaining.
 
With under seven minutes to play, Herring knocked down a jumper to put the Hawks up one. IUP maintained their lead to seven points with a layup from Brooks.
 
A free throw from Ashland tied the game with just 14 seconds left. After IUP took a timeout, Moore wasted no time to drill a clutch game winning three pointer.
 
Up Next
IUP opens conference play with their home opener against Shippensburg on Friday, November 22 with tipoff at 5:00 p.m.
 
Follow 
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on X (Twitter) @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.