INDIANA, Pa. – The Urbana University men’s basketball team finished 1-1 at the S&T Bank Atlantic Region Challenge after a 91-74 loss to No. 24 IUP Saturday night inside the Kovalchick Complex.
The Blue Knights (1-1) trailed by six at halftime, but the Crimson Hawks’ depth outlasted UU by shooting 49 percent from the floor with five players in double figures.
“Tough loss tonight, we fought in spurts but couldn’t get going offensively,” said UU head coach Rob Summers. “IUP is a good ball club with a lot of guys that have been in their system for a while.”
Shooting guard Carlas Jackson led the way for UU with 15 points, including 12 in the first half. The junior also pulled down four boards with four assists in a team-high 32 minutes of action. Forwards Charles Sweatt-Washington (14 pts/6 reb) and Jahmere Howze (12 pts/4 reb) also reached double figures.
Freshman guard Ethan Snapp hit three treys in seven minutes off the bench, while AJ Washington and DeQuan Abrom added six points each. Washington grabbed a team-high nine boards.
UU outrebounded IUP 44-40 and hit eight 3-pointers, but the Blue Knights made just 50 percent from the free-throw line (10-20) and 36 percent of their shot attempts.
IUP (2-0) ran out on a 10-2 spurt in the first five minutes of the second half to go ahead by 14 at 51-37. Then, UU quickly cut the deficit back down to seven following a timeout as Sweatt-Washington added a pair of buckets and Jackson drained a three to make it 51-44 with 13:15 remaining.
Unfortunately, that was as close as UU could get. IUP responded and led by double digits the rest of the way.
“We rebounded the ball really well which is something we haven’t done in the past,” added Summers. “We are taking this season one game at a time so shifting focus to Salem (International) on Wednesday is a priority to us.”
IUP was led by Blake Danielak’s 17 points while Jacobo Diaz scored 16 with 13 rebounds. The Crimson Hawks only turned the ball over 10 times and had seven steals. UU totaled 12 giveaways.
UU will travel to Salem International (0-1) on Wednesday night for a non-conference tilt. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside T. Edward Davis Gymnasium.
