INDIANA, Pa. – In what had the makings of another heavyweight battle between two prideful programs, top-seeded IUP men's basketball eventually delivered the knockout blow in an 85-76 victory during Wednesday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinals against California (Pa.) at the KCAC.
IUP (28-1) posted its 30th consecutive home victory dating back to last season and the 21st straight victory in the series with California (16-14). The Hawks did not trail in the second half, needing to fight back throughout the first half to stay within striking distance before eventually moving ahead.
Shawndale Jones was one of four Crimson Hawks in double digits, firing in a game-high 22 points (9-17 FG), six rebounds and five assists.
Ethan Porterfield logged 18 points with six rebounds and four assists in another strong outing against the Vulcans.
Dave Morris logged 17 points and
Dallis Dillard added 10 points.
Tomiwa Sulaiman grabbed 11 rebounds, helping the Hawks hold a decisive 43-25 edge on the glass.
Jaylen Stewart chipped in nine points and five boards and
KJ Rhodes added a key sequence with contributions throughout the lineup.
Cal U placed four in double digits, led by a team-high 19 points from Donald Whitehead Jr., while Jermaine Hall Jr. notched 17 points and eight rebounds.
IUP outscored the Vulcans by a 52-44 margin in the second half, passing out 18 assists on 29 field goals.
IUP took a narrow 33-32 after a back-and-forth opening stanza. Despite some shooting woes to start the games, IUP eventually settled in, using a key run to regain the advantage at the intermission.
Morris and Jones had 10 points apiece and Sulaiman had eight rebounds over the initial 20 minutes for IUP, which shot 40.7% for the stanza. Porterfield was instrumental for IUP in the early portions of the second half, posting eight consecutive points and helping the hosts mount a nine-point edge at 41-32. Two of those Porterfield buckets came following offensive rebounds, including a stickback through contact at 18:07.
The Vulcans opened the contest with a 12-4 advantage about five minutes in. The Hawks countered with a 15-2 spurt, that pushed the hosts ahead at the 8:51 mark. Jones finished a dazzling fastbreak runout off a feed from Porterfield, and Morris lifted the Hawks ahead on the next possession with a triple at the 11:29 mark for a 15-14 IUP edge.
The Hawks led by as many as five in the opening half before the Vulcans trimmed the deficit to 33-32 on three late foul shots from Whitehead.
IUP eventually pushed its lead to double figures on a stickback from Jones at 11:34, a triple from Dillard at 10:41 and another second-chance layup from Jones at 7:27. Jones' basket with 7:27 left placed IUP ahead by double digits for the remainder of the half, despite plenty of scrappiness from a talented Cal U side.
The Hawks move to 15-3 in PSAC Tournament games at the KCAC and 28-8 all-time at home in the conference tournament.
Up Next
IUP travels to Shippensburg for the PSAC Semifinals, facing East Stroudsburg on Saturday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
