Defending Atlantic Region champion Indiana (Pa.) overcame an early Bowie State blitz with a dazzling shooting performance to earn its second straight trip to the regional title game.
The Crimson Hawks hit 8-of-10 3-pointers in the second half alone and shot a blistering 60 percent (29-of-48) from the field for the game in rolling to their 13th consecutive victory.
The Bulldogs, who had handed IUP a 71-68 setback in a November meeting, jumped out to an 18-4 lead just six minutes after the opening tip.
A stiffening defense and outstanding perimeter shooting brought Indiana roaring back and the Crimson Hawks took their first lead, 33-30, on a 3-point bomb from Ashton Smith with 5:29 showing on the first half clock.
Indiana went on to a 46-40 halftime lead and stayed in command the rest of the way, going 16-of-18 from the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes to keep Bowie State at bay.
Smith led all scorers for IUP with 24 points while Julian Sanders added 22 points. Scooter Renkin delivered 14 key points off the bench on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor while foul-plagued Darryl Webb and Marcel Souberbielle rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Bulldogs got 20 points from Darren Clark, 15 from Eric Vann and a dozen each from Jay Gavin and Bryan Wilson.
Indiana – which improved to 17-4 all-time in NCAA regional games – will be shooting for the sixth regional championship in school history Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Crimson Hawks meet the winner of Sunday’s other semifinal between Shaw (N.C.) and host West Liberty.
