The IUP Crimson Hawks men’s basketball team defeated Hillsdale, 67-55, Tuesday night and moved on to the semifinals of the Elite 8 tournament in Evansville, Indiana.
Jack Benedict had the recap on U92.5 FM.
IUP, the No. 2 seed, led Hillsdale (No. 7), 30-27, at halftime and pulled away with a 37-28 second half.
Coach Joe Lombardi says the defense clamped down in the second half.
Dave Morris hit five jumpers from 3-point range and led IUP with 21 points. Morris bounced back from a sketchy first half to have a big shooting night.
Ethan Porterfield added 14 points for IUP. Freshman forward Tomiwa Sulaiman scored 18 points for the Crimson Hawks and also led IUP with 10 rebounds.
Sulaimon says it feels great to have the confidence of his coaches and teammates.
IUP shot 53 percent from the floor to Hillsdale’s 36 percent.
Watch the post-game press conference here …
Earlier in the day, Black Hills State, the No. 8 seed, upset top-seeded Nova Southeastern, 77-67, and Northwest Missouri State (5) beat No. 4 Bentley, 61-43.
IUP plays Augusta (3), an 81-69 winner over Chico State on Tuesday night, in the semifinals on Thursday, tipoff at 6:30 pm, airtime 5:30 pm on U92.5 FM and U92RADIO.com.
