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TICKETS
Tuesday
Adults - $16 // Youth (ages 3-18) - $12 // Senior Citizens (62+) - $12
Students of participating institutions (with school ID) - $12

** NO COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS **



STORYLINES
• Last time out: Cal U erased a 14-point deficit in the second half on Sunday to earn a 67-65 victory over West Virginia State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• The Vulcans have advanced to the regional final for the seventh time in program history, including 2008 when the program last played in the NCAA Tournament.
 
ABOUT THE VULCANS
• Head coach Danny Sancomb will be coaching in his second regional championship in the last six seasons, as he previously led Wheeling to the title game in 2017.
• Cal U has limited its opponents to a .397 field-goal percentage in the NCAA Tournament while recording a combined plus-29 rebound advantage.
 • The Vulcans have featured five players scoring in double-digits in both victories in the NCAA Tournament, led by 20.5 points per game from sophomore Philip Alston.
 
ABOUT THE CRIMSON HAWKS
• The 2022 PSAC West Coach of the Year, Joe Lombardi has led the Crimson Hawks to three-straight league titles and the program's fourth 30-win season since 2010.
• IUP is allowing only 52.8 points over five games this post-season, including the PSAC Tournament, while opponents are making just 32.4 percent from the field in that span.
• Sophomore Ethan Porterfield is averaging 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor in the NCAA Tournament.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
• Cal U and IUP are meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the Vulcans posted a 78-68 victory in the 1996 regional championship.
• The Crimson Hawks have won the last 17 meetings in the series, including three times this year following a 70-64 victory in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament.
• Cal U last posted a victory over IUP at the Kovalchick Complex on Jan. 18, 2014, as the Vulcans limited the Crimson Hawks to only six field goals in the first half.
 
ROUND 4
Cal U and IUP are meeting in a regional final for the four time in history, as they previously played in the regional championship in three-straight years from 1994-96. The Crimson Hawks won the regional crown in 1994 and 1995 under head coach Kurt Kanaskie, who is currently an assistant at UNC Wilmington. The Vulcans won the final meeting in 1996 under Jim Boone, who is the head coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith. In addition to the regional final, Cal U and IUP met in the PSAC Championship from 1994-96 with the Vulcans winning the league title in both 1994 and 1996.
 
TOP FRESHMEN
The Vulcans and Crimson Hawks feature three of the top freshmen in the Atlantic Region. For Cal U, Keith Palek III and Bryson Lucas have been pivotal throughout the season. Palek has started 29 games and ranks second on the team with 7.5 rebounds per game while also scoring 9.5 points per game. The team's sixth-man, Lucas averages 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in over 18 minutes per game. Meanwhile, IUP's Tomiwa Sulaiman was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year. Prior to the league semifinals last week, he was averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 12 games as a starter.
 
HOME COOKING
IUP registered an undefeated record at home in the 2019-20 season and posted a 20-1 mark at the Kovalchik Complex this year. The lone loss for the Crimson Hawks at the KCAC this year was a 72-60 contest in mid-December against Shippensburg. IUP has won six-straight post-season home games since suffering a loss to Mercyhurst in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
 
RARE AIR
Cal U sophomore Philip Alston continues to rewrite the school's single-season record book. He now ranks third in school history with 682 points this year, trailing only Kenney Toomer and Ray Gutierrez - teammates on the 1992 Final Four Team. Alston, who only trails Toomer for the most field goals in a season, also ranks among the top five in single-season school history with 347 rebounds and 60 blocks. The Ohio native has recorded an Atlantic Region-leading 20 double-doubles this year.
 
ON POINT
In his second year as a starter, IUP junior Armoni Foster broke the single-season school record for assists while being voted the PSAC West Athlete of the Year. He ranks sixth in the country with 6.7 assists per game while also leading the team with 18.3 points per game. Foster leads the Atlantic Region with 209 free-throw attempts and sits second in the region with 157 free-throws made. The Meadville product is one of three players in the nation to record multiple triple-doubles this season.
 
WINNING WAYS
Cal U and IUP feature two of the most successful coaches in the Atlantic Region. In 14 years as a head coach, Danny Sancomb holds a .633 career winning percentage behind six seasons of at least 20 victories since 2012. At IUP, Joe Lombardi has totaled 365 victories over 16 seasons and boasts a .777 winning percentage. He has guided the Crimson Hawks to an appearance in the NCAA National Championship in both 2010 and 2015.
 
CONTRASTING STYLES
The Crimson Hawks rank fourth in NCAA Division II in both scoring defense at 61.9 points per game and scoring margin at plus-17.1 points per game this season. Meanwhile, the Vulcans sit third in the PSAC this year with an average of 82.0 points per game while out-scoring their opponents by an average of 8.9 points per game. Cal U holds a combined 8-4 record this year when being held to less than 80 points with three of the four losses being against IUP. The Crimson Hawks have allowed only two teams to score at least 80 points in a game this season.