Purdue Fort Wayne
Oakland
Mastodons Use Huge Second Half to Bag Grizzlies
2/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2008
Rochester, MI - IPFW overcame a six point half time deficit with some red-hot second half shooting to top Oakland, 71-66 at the O'Rena on Saturday night.
The Mastodons won for just the fourth time when trailing at the half this year.
Oakland dominated this one early, taking a 10 point, 23-13 lead, on a triple from junior guard Erik Kangas.
A triple from freshman forward Will Hudson made it 30-19 with just 3:25 left in the opening half.
IPFW junior forward David Carson dropped in a triple of his own, and the Mastodons cut the OU lead to just six, 32-26 at the break.
In the second half, Carson began to score at will. The Oakland University transfer scored IPFW's first seven points of the second half, cutting the Golden Grizzlies' lead to four at, 37-33.
Then, senior forward DeWitt Scott began to dial it up from behind the arc. Scott drained a three-ball to give the 'Dons their first lead, 41-40 at the 13:51 mark.
Senior forward Jaraun Burrows got a pair of buckets inside, one was part of a three-point play making it, 51-47.
Scott ripped another triple, and Carson got a layup to go to give IPFW its biggest lead at, 58-47.
Oakland made one final push at the 'Dons as sophomore guard Johnathon Jones' layup pulled the Golden Grizzlies to within one at, 62-61.
But, Scott put the final nail in the coffin with his final triple of the night with just :47 left. IPFW made all six of its foul shots in the final :39 to get the season sweep of Oakland, 71-66.
Carson led the Mastodons with a career-high 18 points. He also pulled down five boards in the contest.
Burrows put together a 17 point night, and Scott's four triples figured into his 13 point evening.
OU junior forward Derick Nelson surpassed the 1,000 point total in his career with a team-high 18 points. Kangas chipped in 16 in the loss.
The Mastodons shot a blistering 55.6% in the second half and made 18 of their 20 foul shots.
Oakland (13-12, 8-6 SL) shot 45.3% in the game and outrebounded the 'Dons, 32-30.
With the win, IPFW improves to 11-14 overall and 8-6 in The Summit League. The win gives IPFW solo possession of third place in the Summit League courtesy of the tie-breaker with Oakland.
Oral Roberts remains in first place in The Summit League, but they are no longer undefeated. The Golden Eagles (13-1) lost their first conference game of the season at IUPUI (13-2) on Saturday night, 69-66.
IPFW will return to action, hosting Western Illinois (12-14, 7-8) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
~Dons~
