Box Score
INDIANA, Pa. – Host Indiana (Pa.) could not miss from 3-point range all night as the Crimson Hawks cruised to a 92-76 victory over visiting West Chester in the PSAC semifinals Friday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
West Chester (20-8), which has rung up the most wins in a single season since the 2003 campaign, will wait until Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. to see if it gets an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament. IUP (23-5) advances to the championship game of the PSAC Tournament to take on Slippery Rock, who defeated East Stroudsburg, 68-59, earlier in the evening in the other semifinal.
The Crimson Hawks drained the first eight shots they took from 3-point range and jumped out to an early 23-10 lead. West Chester never recovered from IUP’s shooting performance. The hosts knocked down 9 of their first 10 from downtown in the first half and led 43-26 at the break.
IUP shot 50 percent from the field in the first half (15 of 30) while going 11 of 17 from beyond 3-point range. In all, 11 of IUP’s 15 baskets in the first 20 minutes were 3-pointers.
“I’m speechless,” WCU head coach Damien Blair began the post-game press conference. “I’ve been in coaching 15 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. I don’t think I have ever seen a team shoot that well from the perimeter.”
The Crimson Hawks’ 15 3-pointers in the game set a new PSAC Tournament record. IUP was 15-for-23 from 3-point range in the game. The Hawks shot 57.8 percent overall from the floor.
West Chester was led by Breeden’s 16 points. Harley Williamson contributed a season-high 15 while Shannon Givens had 11 and Troy Hockaday had 10.
“Sometimes the ball bounces your way, and sometimes it doesn’t,” Breeden commented afterwards. “I wouldn’t want to play with anybody else than those guys in that locker room. I know that. We came up short, but those guys played hard.”
IUP’s Mathis Keita notched a career-high 25 points, and Anthony Wells had 23. Scooter Renkin added 18 points for the Crimson Hawks as well.
NOTES: With the loss, West Chester falls to 12-18 all-time in the PSAC Tournament since its inception in 1981 … WCU head coach Damien Blair is now 3-3 in three trips to the conference tournament … West Chester’s 20 wins are the most in a single season in Blair’s five years at his alma mater … West Chester’s 39-18 record is its best in back-to-back seasons since 2002-03 when the Golden Rams were 41-18 … So., F Corey Blake has scored 625 points in his first two seasons at West Chester … Sr., G Jon Breeden ranks 10th all-time in career assists at WCU with 256 … he did that in just two years at the school … Breeden played in his 100th career college basketball game (53 at WCU; 47 at Siena) … Breeden’s .850 free-throw percentage in his two years at West Chester ranks third all-time … Sr., G Carl Johnson scored 697 points in 96 career games.
