Marcel Souberbielle (Montevideo, Uruguay/Uruguayan American School) played perhaps one of the most dominant games of his career, hitting two last-second three pointers at the end of regulation and the end of the first overtime to keep the team’s hopes alive. The senior finished the night with a team-high 27 points, 10 rebounds and one assist, going 10-of-20 from the floor, 4-of-10 from behind the arc and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
Brandon Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown), who fouled out in the second overtime, also recorded a double-double, posting 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. He was 8-of-18 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free throw line but failed to connect on a three, going 0-of-4 from three ball range.
While they were never able to gain a commanding lead, the Crimson Hawks did hold an advantage for a majority of the first half, getting up by as much as six and holding a five-point advantage with 3:38 to play. West Liberty rallied back finishing the half on an 8-0 run and hitting a three with just nine seconds on the clock that sent IUP into the break trailing by three.
The Hilltoppers came out strong in the second, getting up by as much as nine with 15:15 on the clock.
As they proved throughout the whole game, the Crimson Hawks were resilient. A layup from Devon Cottrell (Pittsburgh/Gateway) started an 11-0 run that would give IUP the two-point advantage with just over 12 minutes to play.
The two teams would exchange baskets with neither getting firm control of the lead.
A pair of free throws from Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, NC/Greenfield School) gave the Crimson Hawks a two-point advantage with 1:24 remaining in the period, but the Hilltoppers’ Shawn Dyer nailed a three ball with 1:05 to go that shifted the momentum back in favor of West Liberty. Up by one with 15 seconds to go, Norfleet was called for a foul that sent Cedric Harris to the line. He hit both shots and gave the Hilltoppers the three-point advantage.
With time winding down, Souberbielle took a pass from Mathis Keita (Thionville, France/Insep) and hit a three from the far corner of the court, tying the game at 65-65 and leaving just four seconds on the clock.
West Liberty was unable to get a shot off as time ran off the clock, sending the game into overtime.
The IUP defense shined, allowing the Hilltoppers, who entered the tournament averaging 102.9 points, to score just 65 in regulation, which would have been their second lowest outing all season.
Keita got things going for IUP to start off the first overtime, draining a three-pointer after nearly a minute of play. West Liberty responded with three straight jump shots to take the 71-68 lead with 2:22 to play.
IUP rattled off four shots that all failed to connect before West Liberty came up with the rebound and headed down the court. Harris missed the shot and Devante Chance(Philadelphia/Electrical & Technology Charter) came up with the rebound with just 44 seconds remaining in the game.
Souberbielle, yet again, drained a three-point shot, on an assist from Keita, with just 25 seconds remaining to tie the game at 71-71.
Following an IUP timeout, West Liberty was able to inbound the ball to Dyer who could not connect on the layup, sending the game into double overtime.
Chance got the scoring underway in the second overtime, hitting a pair of free throws with just under four minutes to go. Norfleet lobbed in a layup with 3:16 remaining to give IUP the four-point advantage. With 2:26 on the clock, Norfleet was tabbed for his fifth foul, sending Dyer to the line. He drained both of his shots to pull the Hilltoppers within two.
Dyer came up big again with 1:11 on the clock, hitting a jumper that tied the game at 75-75. Each team had the opportunity to win it, but shots from Souberbielle and Cedric Harris did not connect, forcing triple overtime with the score tied at 75-75.
West Liberty was dominant in the final overtime, hitting a three-pointer and a jump shot in back-to-back possessions to get up by five after a minute of play. Keita and Harris each nailed a pair of free throws, giving the Hilltoppers the 82-77 lead with 3:37 to go.
The Hilltoppers claimed their biggest advantage of the overtime periods, getting up by seven after a layup from Harris with 2:37 to play. The Crimson Hawks’ offense ignited, as Souberbielle was fouled on a layup, completing the three-point play, and would nail two more free throws to pull IUP within two with 1:33 to go.
With just 0.8 seconds on the clock, Harris was called for a foul, sending redshirt freshman Cornell Yarde II (Leesport/Schuylkill Valley) to the line for two. Yarde, who was making just his second career start, hit the first shot, forcing a West Liberty timeout. The second shot bounced off the rim and Yarde was able to grab the rebound and put one last shot in the air, which missed the target and gave the Hilltoppers the 86-85 victory after 55 minutes of competition.
This is the third straight victory for West Liberty over the Crimson Hawks, all three coming in the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament. This was also the first triple overtime game for IUP since the 1990-91 season when they fell to Clarion 126-124.
Keita added 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal. He was 6-of-13 from the field, 2-of-4 from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
As a team, IUP shot 39.5 percent from the floor, going 43.3 percent in the first half, 41.4 percent in the second half and just 29.4 percent in the overtime periods. They were slightly outshot by the Hilltoppers, who shot 40.0 percent in the game.
From three-point range, the Crimson Hawks, who entered the game with the nation’s third-ranked three-point field goal percentage defense, held the Hilltoppers to just five three balls and a percentage of 17.2. West Liberty entered the tournament averaging 12.9 three pointers per game with a percentage of 41.5, both ranked in the top five in the country.
IUP outrebounded the Hilltoppers 51-46, grabbing 18 offensive boards and 33 defensive.
The loss ends the Crimson Hawks’ tournament run, ending their season with a record of 24-5. This was the sixth consecutive tournament appearance for IUP who have a record of 24-13 in the big dance.
It was also the final competition for seniors Souberbielle and Keita. Souberbielle, who has been with the program for all four years of his college career, ends his time as a Crimson Hawk with 1,169 career points, ranking 19th in school history. Keita, who joined the team prior to the 2012-13 season after transferring from Division I Gonzaga, has scored more than 800 points in just two seasons with IUP.
