INDIANA, Pa. - IUP's Jacobo Diaz got a tip-in to fall as the buzzer sounded on Sunday afternoon to lift the sixth-ranked Crimson Hawks to an 83-81 overtime victory over the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team at the Kovalchick Complex. With the loss, the Huskies dropped to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division standings. The Crimson Hawks improved to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the PSAC Western Division.

Redshirt senior Christian Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) led Bloomsburg with a team-high 26 points including four three-pointers. The Huskies' star also pulled down six rebounds, dished out three assists, and collected four steals. With his four triples on Sunday, Mortellite broke the school's all-time record for most career three-pointers made as he now has 240 for his career. Lorenzo Christmas held the previous record of 237 from 2010-14.

But, overshadowing Mortellite's record was the wild-and-crazy finish that led to a controversial ending. With the game tied at 81-81, IUP's Anthony Glover missed a layup with nine seconds left and Mortellite came down with the rebound. However, Glover poked the ball free from the redshirt senior near mid-court and went in for another layup with one second left on the clock. The shot was missed but Diaz was there to tip-in the rebound. After a brief discussion by the officiating crew, the tip-in was ruled good and IUP came away with the two-point win.

The game featured 14 ties and 21 lead changes throughout the course of the contest - many of which came during the closing minutes of regulation and the five-minute overtime period. Neither team led by more than seven points during the game with Bloomsburg holding the largest advantage of the contest - 51-44 with 12:03 left in regulation.

Bloomsburg led by six, 63-57, with 5:58 left after a layup from redshirt sophomore Sam Saxton (York, Pa./Central York), before the Crimson Hawks went on a 9-2 run over the next 1:50 to take a 66-65 lead with 4:08 left. From there, the end of regulation went back-and-forth with both teams holding one-point leads on four separate occasions. The last four minutes also saw three ties.

Senior Kyle-Michael Rose (Middletown, Del./Sanford School) converted a layup with 37 seconds left to give the Huskies a 73-72 lead, but Malik Miller was fouled with four seconds left to give the Crimson Hawks an opportunity to take the lead. Miller made 1-of-2 and sophomore Khary Mauras (Reading, Pa./Reading)' three-pointer from inside half-court missed the mark as the game headed to overtime.

It was more of the same in the extra session as the teams battled through five ties and four lead changes. IUP's Blake Danielak gave the Crimson Hawks and 81-79 lead on a triple with 46 seconds left before Rose hit a tough baseline jumped to tie the game at 81-81 on Bloomsburg's next possession. That set up Diaz' heroics.

IUP led by as many as six points, 23-17, with 7:38 left in the first half before the Huskies closed out the half by outscoring the Crimson Hawks, 18-6, to take a 35-29 lead into the break. Mortellite's three-pointer with 5:49 left in the opening stanza proved to be the record-breaker and gave the Huskies a 26-25 advantage.

The Crimson Hawks took a one-point lead, 42-41, early in the second half as the hosts scored 13 of the game's next 19 points in the opening 3:30 of the second frame. Bloomsburg reclaimed the lead on a layup from Rose and then built up as much as a seven-point advantage with 12:03 left in regulation.

Four other Huskies joined Mortellite in double figures to pace the offense. Rose finished with 16 points on 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line. All 16 of his points came in the second half and overtime. He also blocked three shots on the defensive end. Mauras finished with 13 but made just 3-of-18 from the field. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. Graduate student Hashim Moore (Sunrise, Fla./Hun School) added a season-high 11 points before fouling out while Saxton chipped in with 10 points and a team-high four assists.

Diaz led the Crimson Hawks with 30 points and 14 rebounds. Miller (16) and Danielak (11) were also in double figures.

The Huskies shot 46.7% for the game while IUP finished at 46.2%. The Crimson Hawks held a 38-32 edge in rebounding. Diaz pulled down a game-high 14 boards while sophomore Austin Harriott (Philadelphia, Pa./Hun School) led the Huskies with nine.

Bloomsburg will look to regroup on Tuesday night, November 21, when it hosts Holy Family University at the Nelson Field House. Start time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.