Indiana (Pa.) reaches Division II title game with 76-70 win

Indiana (Pa.) tops St. Cloud State 76-70

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Thomas Young had 15 points and led five double-figure scorers and Indiana (Pa.) held off St. Cloud State 76-70 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament on Thursday.

The Crimson Hawks (33-2) advanced to the Saturday’s championship game where they will face the winner of the other semifinal between Bentley and Cal Poly-Pomona.

The Huskies finished 29-6.

Darryl Webb had 12 points and 15 rebounds for IUP. Ashton Smith added 14 points, Kevin Stewart had 11 and Akida McLain 10.

“The key to our consistency all year is that we can afford for guys to have an off night because we have so many guys capable of stepping up and scoring,” Indiana (Pa.) coach Joe Lombardi said.

IUP won despite struggling to contain St. Cloud’s Matt Schneck. The Huskies senior center had 29 points and 17 rebounds for his second straight double-double.

The Crimson Hawks were successful in slowing Taylor Witt. The junior guard, who scored 43 points in the quarterfinals, had 16 points on 7 for 23 shooting.

Indiana (Pa.) took advantage of the Huskies’ 25 percent shooting (8-for-32) in the first half and opened a 30-15 lead with just over five minutes remaining.

St. Cloud cut the lead to seven at halftime at 32-25 and carried that momentum into the second half.

St. Cloud cut its deficit to within three on several occasions, but couldn’t pull even until Brett Putz scored on an offensive rebound with 3:32 remaining to tie it at 64-64.

But Julian Sanders hit a 3-pointer with a second left on the shot clock to regain the lead and momentum.

“We gave him a green light with his shots sometimes because he has that capability,” Lombardi said. “It was a momentum changer.”

St. Cloud coach Kevin Schlagel complimented Sanders’ shot.

“We had a good defensive stand and he was out about 23 feet and hit a tough shot,” Schlagel said. “He can obviously shoot it and made great play.”