INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP men's basketball team fell short in a 94-84 defeat to South Carolina Beaufort on Monday evening at the KCAC.
 
Christian Moore led the Hawks with 25 points, connecting on nine field goals, including four from beyond the arc. He also contributed seven rebounds and two steals. Kymani Merraro followed with a strong performance, scoring 21 points, hitting seven field goals, converting 7-of-8 free throws, and dishing out six assists.
 
Merraro's 21 points marked a career-high for him. Moore has scored 25 points or more in three games this season. 
 
Damir Brooks went 4 for 5 from the field and added five rebounds. Tyler Grove contributed six rebounds and a block, while Sarp Furton added seven rebounds and two blocks. Off the bench, Ian Herring provided a spark with 10 points, six rebounds, and a team-high four steals.

Despite shooting 50% from the field, the Hawks struggled to counter South Carolina Beaufort's 14 three-pointers.
 
Grove opened the scoring for the Hawks with a putback off a rebound. After USCB responded with a basket, Brooks answered quickly with a dunk assisted by Grove.

Merraro sparked a six-point run, scoring three times in the paint, to give IUP an early five-point lead. At 14:12, Luke Triggs drained the Hawks' first three-pointer of the game. Moore added a layup, a free throw, and a three-pointer to extend IUP's lead to six with just under 12 minutes remaining in the half.
 
The Sand Sharks answered with a nine-point run to claim their first lead of the night with under eight minutes to go.

Both teams continued trading leads late in the first half.

Back-to-back layups from Merraro pushed the Hawks ahead 34-32, followed by consecutive baskets from Alfonso Pickens Jr. to give IUP a 35-33 edge.

However, with just seconds left in the half, former IUP player Kyle Polce nailed a three-pointer to send South Carolina Beaufort into halftime with a 42-39 advantage.
 
The second half saw both teams trading points early before the Sand Sharks capitalized on their three-point shooting to pull ahead. Triggs knocked down three free throws midway through the half, trimming the deficit to 10 points.

The teams exchanged three-pointers and buckets in the paint, but despite a late surge, the Hawks were unable to mount a full comeback.

Up Next 
IUP travels to Shepherdstown, W.Va. on Friday, December 6 to matchup against Shepherd 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.