INDIANA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's basketball paused its regular season schedule to dip back into exhibition play on Sunday, when the Lions fell 99-54 to Division II No. 2 Indiana University of Pennsylvania at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.

IUP (7-0) shot 59.6 percent from the field overall, including going 10-for-23 from three-point range. The Crimson Hawks put 49 first-half points on the board, then added 50 more to their total in the second half.

"Proud of the effort," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We had some glimpses where we looked really good and competed, and then other times when we allowed their size to affect us, especially on our offensive end."

Penn State Altoona (3-5) got a team-high 13 points from Robbie Hicks (Melbourne, FL/Rockledge), and Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) added 10 points.

Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) had nine points, Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) totaled seven points, and Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) had team-highs with six rebounds, six steals, and three assists while also scoring four points.

IUP got a game-high 31 points from Dave Morris, while Tomiwa Sulaiman scored 20 points. Dallis Dillard added 15 points and 11 boards for the home team, and Damir Brooks scored 13.

Penn State Altoona kept things close with IUP in the early going of the first half. After the Crimson Hawks started the game on a 7-0 run, a Jones' jump shot and Bush three-pointer brought the Lions back to within four, 9-5. Bush tacked on a free throw at 15:29, and Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee) scored a layup just over a minute later to bring Penn State Altoona to within two, 12-10.

But IUP responded with another 7-0 run to widen the gap, and the Crimson Hawks limited Penn State Altoona to just 17 points over the final 14-plus minutes of the first half. Leading 49-27 at the break, IUP's success continued in the second half, when they converted on 18-of-25 shots from the field.

Early in the second half, Penn State Altoona got a layup and foul shot from Harman and foul shots from Hicks and Bush to make it a 16-point game, 54-38, by 16:08. Harman's dunk at 13:35 cut the IUP lead to 14 points, 64-40. But the Crimson Hawks did not allow Penn State Altoona to make up any more ground, as IUP pulled away in the latter stages of the period.

"I thought we came out in the second half and fought back," said McGreal. "We were able to turn them over with our press, but even when we did that, we had a tough time scoring. They are the number two ranked team in Division II for a reason."

Penn State Altoona men's basketball will restart its regular season schedule on Tuesday, December 20, when the Lions travel east to face non-conference opponent York College (Pa.) at 6:00 p.m.