Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern Utah
IPFW's Summit League Debut is a Success
12/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2007
Fort Wayne, IN - IPFW wasted no time making its mark in the Summit League. The Mastodons got their first conference win in their first try, with a 74-66 win over Southern Utah, Thursday night at the Memorial Coliseum.
After trailing early in the game, IPFW exploded on an 18-4 run midway through the first half to open up a 13 point lead.
Senior guard Demetrius Johnson was dishing out assists like Halloween candy, with most of those feeds going to senior forward Jaraun Burrows, who finished the half 13 points.
Johnson had eight assists at the break, and the Mastodons led by nine, 34-25.
Out of the break, IPFW raced out to another huge run. Junior guard Jakari Johnson nailed a triple, followed up by a trey from senior forward DeWitt Scott to give the 'Dons a 44-28 lead.
Add in five points from freshman guard Ben Botts, and another triple from Scott, and the Mastodons' put together a 23-8 run making it, 57-33 with just over 11-minutes left to play.
But, the Thunderbirds would not go quietly. Junior forward Geoff Payne, the T-Birds leading scorer, and sophomore guard Davis Baker got red-hot. Southern Utah ripped off a 22-5 run of their own to draw to within seven at 62-55 at the 4:27 mark.
Jakari Johnson hit a huge three with 1:43 remaining to stem the tide, and the Mastodons hit their free throws down the stretch for their first Summit League win.
The Thunderbirds (1-7, 0-1 SL) had a good shooting night, hitting on 52.9% of their shots. They were led in scoring by Payne with a game-high 27 points. Baker added a 20-point effort in the loss.
IPFW (3-4, 1-0 SL) registered four players in double-figures, with Burrows 18 points leading the way. Burrows also had a huge defensive effort with a team-high seven rebounds and six blocks.
Scott hit five 3-pointers in the game and finished with 17 points.
Demetrius Johnson put together his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 assists.
Jakari Johnson hit a pair of threes and finished with 12 points.
IPFW will not have long to savor their first conference "W". The Mastodons will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, playing host to UMKC. The Kangaroos dropped a 114-105 overtime decision to Oakland on Thursday night in Rochester, Michigan.
Game time at the Coliseum is 4:00 p.m.
~Dons~
