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Jan. 30, 2010
Darryl Webb posted his 11th double-double of the season with 22 points and 15 rebounds, and three other IUP players reached double figures in the scoring column in an 83-74 victory over Slippery Rock on Saturday at Morrow Field House. The Crimson Hawks remained undefeated in six PSAC West games and maintained their one-game lead in the division over Clarion. IUP, ranked No. 9 in the nation and No. 1 in the Atlantic Region, improved to 17-1 overall. Thomas Young added 19 points followed by Ashton Smith with 13 and Akida McLain with 12. McLain also grabbed nine rebounds while Smith and Kevin Stewart both had four assists. IUP committed only nine turnovers one game after setting a school record with just two in a win over California. Jabril Bailey led Slippery Rock (13-6, 2-4) with 26 points and Maron Brown had 20. The Rock hoisted 32 3-pointers and hit 10 to help them stay in the game most of the way. The outcome was far better than IUP's last two trips to Slippery Rock when the Crimson Hawks lost twice there in a span of three days. The Rock took a 73-72 win in the regular season finale to earn a home game in the PSAC quarterfinal finals, and took advantage with an 86-69 win to eliminate IUP from the conference tournament. The Crimson Hawks would not experience a repeat on Saturday due to clutch late game shooting after Slippery Rock cut a 71-61 deficit down to four with 3:33 remaining. After Brown made two free throws to reduce the IUP lead to 73-69, Webb nailed a 3-pointer to rebuild the lead to seven with 3:11 to go. After Bailey made 1 of 2 from the line, Stewart missed a 3-pointer but Smith grabbed the rebound and fed McLain for an easy layup that gave the Crimson Hawks a 78-70 lead with 2:32 left. Two free throws by Cecil Brown and a layup by Maron Brown after an offensive foul against Stewart brought Slippery Rock back within four at 78-74 with 1:15 to go. Young was fouled with 37 seconds left and missed the front end of a one and one. But Julian Sanders skied to grab the offensive board to prevent the Rock from getting a chance to move even closer, and Stewart hit two from the line to push it up to a six-point cushion. Slippery Rock led by as many as five in the first half and was in front 23-19 after a jumper by Bailey at the 7:49 mark. But the Rock proceeded to miss seven of its final 10 shots of the half and scored only seven points the rest of the way, helping IUP put on a 16-7 run to take the lead into intermission. Stewart gave the Crimson Hawks a lead they would never relinquish when his layup with 2:52 to go in the half put IUP in front 30-28. A 3-pointer by Sanders and two free throws by Young enabled IUP to take a 35-30 lead to the locker room. Webb nearly had his double-double secured by halftime, scoring 12 points to go along with nine rebounds over the opening 20 minutes. Young hit a 3-pointer and made a layup, and Smith converted a 3-point play in the opening 1:18 of the second half to give IUP a 43-30 lead. An offensive rebound and layup by McLain had the Crimson Hawks in front 47-34 with 16:36 to go before Slippery Rock began to inch back into the game. IUP finishes the first trip through the PSAC West on Wednesday when it hosts Edinboro in a 7:30 game at Memorial Field House. The Fighting Scots are struggling at 2-4 in the division, tied for fifth with Slippery Rock and Lock Haven. |
