Cold shooting and a second half surge fueled by 7-foot-1 inch center Tyshaun Crawford led to the end of the road for IUP in Evansville, Indiana.
Jack Benedict has the recap.
Coach Joe Lombardi said afterward that IUP was just not strong enough.
Lombardi spoke to his team after the game and told them how proud he was of them.
The coach said his players learned a lot in a long, grueling season.
All-American guard Armoni Foster said the pressure from Augusta’s Crawford was tremendous, and IUP’s offense couldn’t keep up.
Guard Dave Morris was proud of the journey IUP took to get to the national semifinals.
IUP’s cupboard is by no means bare, with only one senior, Tommy Demogerontis, on the roster. Unless there are transfers out of the program, IUP will bring back Foster and Morris, and returning high scorer Shawndale Jones as seniors. All-PSAC forward Ethan Porterfield will be a junior. And returning for their sophomore seasons will be several young players who saw significant action this season: Tomiwah Sulaimon, Dallis Dillard, Bryce Radford, Ousmane Diop, and Kyle Polce.
DIVISION ONE
In the Sweet Sixteen last night, two more number one seeds were sent packing, including top overall seed Gonzaga, which was knocked off by Arkansas, 74-68 in the West Regional. West number two seed Duke handed coach Mike Krzyzewski his 100th career NCAA Tournament win, 78-73 over Texas Tech. In the South Regional, top seed Arizona was upset by number five Houston, 72-60. Number two Villanova dropped number eleven Michigan, 63-55.
On the schedule today, the marquee game is between two legendary programs, as number four UCLA plays number eight North Carolina in the East Region. Number three Purdue leads off the action in the East against Cinderella team number fifteen Saint Peter’s. In the Midwest Region, top seed Kansas plays number four Providence and number ten Miami plays number eleven Iowa State.
