The Crimson Hawks fell three points short of making second-straight Elite Eight appearance

One final heave from behind the 3-point line was all IUP had left to get them to overtime against the top team in the nation and another chance in the Elite Eight.

The shot missed long on the far side of the rim as time expired and brought IUP's season to an end.

The Crimson Hawks (26-6) came up short in Tuesday night's NCAA Division II men's basketball Atlantic regional final, falling to No. 1 overall West Liberty (32-0), 89-86, in the Hilltoppers' Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex.

"It's just a tribute to West Liberty," IUP Head Coach Joe Lombardi said. "They've had a tremendous year so far, grinded it over the course of the season and owned the home-court advantage. And just like it played out last year, I think home-court advantage was the difference."

Coming down to the wire, the play drawn up by the coaching staff would've set up Julian Sanders for a game-tying 3-point shot. However, the Hilltoppers put a trap on the Crimson Hawk long-range shooting threat as soon as he got the ball from point guard Kevin Stewart.

The "unpredictability" of West Liberty's defense, according to Lombardi, forced the Crimson Hawks to adjust their offense on the fly.

Sanders eventually got a shot from beyond the arch, but was unsuccessful. Junior Scooter Renkin dished the rebound back outside before getting open barely long enough to get off a contested 3-point shot before the buzzer sounded, but to no avail.

Guard Ashton Smith, IUP's offensive leader this season in the backcourt, fouled out with 2:56 remaining.

The story of the night for IUP, however, was the persistence of Darryl Webb, who picked up his 54th career double-double with a team-high 23 points and 16 rebounds.

Webb, a senior, ends his collegiate career at IUP in possession of several school records including points scored, rebounds, field goals made, blocks and games played.

"Darryl is IUP basketball," Lombardi said. "We were on probation five years ago, and that was the face of IUP basketball. Our first year we won six games, and that was the face of IUP basketball. Winning 81 games over the last three years and Darryl spearheading that, he's the face of IUP basketball."

Joining Webb in double-digit scoring were Sanders (17), Stewart (13), Renkin (12), and Smith (11).

The game was evenly played through the first half as the two squads swapped leads, never jumping to a margin higher than six. The Hawks took a one-point lead into the locker room and are the only team to have led West Liberty after 20 minutes all season.

But what West Liberty Head Coach Jim Crutchfield attributed the victory to was the 14-0 run at the beginning of the second half during which the Hilltoppers caused four IUP turnovers to add to their 16 on the night.

"In that stretch, I thought we took control of the game," Crutchfield said. "From then on in, I thought we played pretty well."

IUP was far from finished, though. That 14-0 run led to a 16-point Hilltopper lead that was reduced to only two points with 5:17 to play.

"West Liberty plays in streaks," Lombardi said. "And our guys were prepared for it."

The Hawks never regained the lead after losing it in the opening minutes of the second half. West Liberty built the lead back up to eight before the dramatic finish "We weathered the storm," said Crutchfield.

West Liberty senior guard Corey Pelle, who led the Hilltoppers with 23 points, admitted he was "scared to death" when IUP was back within three with 9.1 seconds on the clock.

In the end, the Crimson Hawks felt the same sting West Liberty had when they lost in the Atlantic regional championship in Indiana a season ago.

"This was their year," said Webb. "Last year was ours."

While West Liberty will advance to the Elite Eight, IUP closes the look on this season with its heads held high.

 "I'm proud of our program for the consistency," Lombardi said. "I'm betting we're one of the few teams in the country, at least in the region, to go to three straight NCAA's, and we want to make that the hallmark of our program."