No. 7 Shaw 62, No. 10 Indiana (Pa.) 54
The No. 2-seeded Bears (26-3) broke a 54-54 tie with an 8-0 run over the final 1:32 to hand the No. 7-seeded Crimson Hawks (23-6) an uncommonly early exit in a battle of Top 10 teams.
Indiana brought a 17-5 regional record into Saturday’s game but could never quite get over the hump in its quest to advance to a third straight Atlantic Region championship game.
Shaw led by as many as 10 points in the first half before IUP was able to turn the game into a defensive struggle and closed the gap to 28-26 at intermission.
The Bears never trailed in the second half but a Marcel Souberbielle 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining capped a 7-0 IUP surge and tied the game at 54-54.
Shaw’s Junius Chaney answered with a pair of free throws for a 56-54 lead at 1:31 and PSAC West Player of the Year Ashton Smith missed a runner for the Crimson Hawks with just over a minute to play.
The Bears’ Karron Johnson then dropped a dagger of a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 45 seconds left to make it 59-54. Another Indiana turnover followed and Shaw closed out the win at the charity stripe.
Johnson – who had made only 5 3-pointers all season – was 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc and led the winners with 17 points. Chaney added a dozen points and 8 rebounds while Tony Smith had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Julian Sanders led IUP with 17 points while Smith finished with 11.
