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Purdue Fort Wayne
North Dakota State
Too Many Second Chances for North Dakota State
12/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2008
Fort Wayne, IN - North Dakota State grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and cashed those second chances in for 14 points in holding off a comeback-minded IPFW, 67-60 on Wednesday afternoon at the Memorial Coliseum.
The win pushed the Bison to a Summit League leading 3-0, while the Mastodons fell to 0-3 in league play.
The Summit League's leading scorer, NDSU guard Ben Woodside, got the Bison going early with one of those offensive rebounds and a put-back giving North Dakota State an early 11-8 lead.
Back-to-back inside buckets by forwards David Carson and Deilvez Yearby allowed the 'Dons to tie the game at 12.
Unfortunately, IPFW went cold from about the 10-minute mark to the end of the half. They were outscored by NDSU 22-8 and trailed 34-20 at the intermission.
In the second half, IPFW began a slow and steady comeback.
Sophomore guard Ben Botts' triple cut the Bison lead to 11. He also converted an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Sophomore guard Zach Plackemeier was fouled while shooting a three. His three free throws, along with a Yearby layup, cut the North Dakota State lead to just five at 46-41 with 9:39 remaining.
Carson stepped behind the arc and hit his only 3-pointer of the game three minutes later to draw the 'Dons to within a bucket at 50-48. The Gary, Indiana native went to the line the next trip down the floor and hit one of two to close to within one. But, that is as close as IPFW would get the rest of the way.
Woodside and fellow senior guard Mike Nelson ripped consecutive triples to give the Bison a cushion they would not relinquish.
"North Dakota State is a really good basketball team," IPFW head coach Dane Fife said. "We've got to click on all cylinders and to give up 17 offensive rebounds in inexcusable. Nevertheless, I thought we fought hard in the second half and played probably well enough to win but just didn't make the plays in the end."
After shooting a lukewarm 31.0% in the opening half, IPFW blistered the nets for an average of 57.9% in the second half and finished hitting 41.7%.
Uncharacteristically, the 'Dons managed just three 3-pointers in the game.
North Dakota State (8-4, 3-0) finished the game shooting just 35.9% but with those 17 offensive rebounds they took 16 more shots than IPFW.
Woodside led the Bison with 21 points. Nelson put together a 14 point, 11 rebound double-double.
It was a career effort for Carson in the loss. He scored 25 points (previous high, 24 at E. Illinois, 11/29/08) and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year.
"I give all the credit to those guys (North Dakota State)," Carson noted. "Their role players stepped up and made some big plays. The shot (Lucas) Moorman made towards the end of the game was big. They are a veteran team and they play with a lot of confidence."
Botts was the only other Mastodon in double-figures with 13.
With the loss, IPFW falls to 5-9 overall. They return to Summit League play on Friday night, hosting South Dakota State at 7pm. IPFW and the Community Harvest Food Bank will again provide fans with admission for $1.00 with the donation of a non-perishable food item.
~Dons~
