Purdue Fort Wayne
Centenary
Perkins Leads IPFW past Centenary College
1/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2008
Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW men's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with a 71-52 win over visiting Centenary College on Saturday night at the Memorial Coliseum.
IPFW overcame a sluggish first half to improve even their record at 3-3 in Summit League play.
The Mastodons (6-11, 3-3) couldn't get anything going early, falling behind by as many as eight points, the latest coming on jumper by junior guard Tyrone Hamilton at the 11:16 mark of the first half.
The Mastodons finally began to hit from the floor. Junior guard Jakari Johnson kick-started the 'Dons offense with a triple.
Junior forward David Carson got a bucket in the paint, and the Mastodons trailed by just four at, 15-11 in a very low scoring opening half.
The 'Dons took their first lead of the ballgame on a pair of free-throws from Johnson with just over four minutes remaining.
Senior guard Chris Perkins slashed to the hoop, converting an acrobatic layin to put the Mastodons up by seven, and they went into the break with a, 31-25 advantage.
With history on their side (IPFW is 4-0 in games when leading at the half) the 'Dons began to push the tempo.
A three-pointer in transition from freshman guard Ben Botts put IPFW up 10 at 43-33.
Perkins and senior forward DeWitt Scott hit mid-range jumpers, and IPFW could see the finish line.
They kept the lead around 15 for the rest of the game and won by 19, 71-52.
Six Mastodons scored in double-figures.
Perkins led the way with a season-high 16 points.
"Hats off to Chris Perkins, who is my player of the game because he took care of the basketball," IPFW head coach Dane Fife said.
"He didn't try to force the issue. He made shots when they were there, and he did an outstanding job for us."
Scott and Johnson each had 11-point nights. Botts, Carson, and senior forward Jaraun Burrows finished the evening with 10 points.
Burrows added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year, his third in-a-row.
Junior forward Lance Hill led Centenary (7-10, 1-4) with a game-high 19 points.
IPFW outrebounded the Gents, 31-24.
The 'Dons shot 50.0% from the floor and held Centenary to just 35.8% shooting.
IPFW will be off until next Saturday when they host the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the night-cap of another women's/men's double header. The women's contest begins at 1:00 p.m., and the men tip-off at 4:00 p.m.
~Dons~
