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EAST STROUDSBURG – Jacobo Diaz had 28 points and 13 rebounds, including a team-high six points after regulation, as No. 5 IUP edged East Stroudsburg University by a 98-97 final in overtime on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.
The Warriors (10-5, 7-2 PSAC) saw a 16-game home winning streak come to an end, while the Crimson Hawks (15-1, 8-1 PSAC) rebounded after suffering their first loss of the season over the weekend.
Redshirt sophomore
Troy Jones hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in the second half, giving ESU a brief 84-82 advantage. IUP, though, drove end-to-end without calling a timeout, and Diaz found Willem Brandwijk with just over a second remaining to force overtime.
Diaz and Dante Lombardi hit back-to-back layups to begin the extra session, and IUP would maintain a slim lead throughout OT. Lombardi led all scorers with 33 points, hitting 11 of 21 shots overall and 8 of 15 attempts from 3-point range.
Freshman
Ryan Smith matched a season-high with 21 points (8-11 FG) to lead the Warriors offensively. He added 11 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season. Redshirt senior
Jakwan Jones also had a double-double, totaling 18 points, 10 assists and five steals in the defeat.
ESU trailed for a majority of the first half, ultimately heading into the intermission facing a 50-43 deficit. IUP's grew to as large as 64-53 early in the second half.
A layup by senior
Nick Giordano then began a 16-2 run for the home side. Back-to-back layups by junior
Michal Weiss capped the run, which put the Warriors in front 69-66 with 10:56 remaining.
ESU increased its advantage to 79-74 with 3:04 left. Two 3-pointers by Lombardi and a pair of free throws by Malik Miller accounted for an 8-2 IUP spurt which gave the visitors an 82-81 lead prior to
Troy Jones' go-ahead long ball.
The Crimson Hawks led by as many as five points in the final minute of overtime. A
Jakwan Jones 3-pointer cut the margin to one with two seconds left, but IUP ran out the clock on the in-bound.
Giordano finished with 17 points in the defeat, while redshirt senior
Josh Williams added 15 points for ESU. The Warriors had a 24-14 advantage in turnovers and a 30-8 edge in points off turnovers.
ESU returns to action Saturday afternoon, traveling to Bloomsburg for a PSAC East matchup scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.