Gaines' 19 Second-Half Points Leads IPFW Past Oral Roberts, 80-77

Saturday, January 29

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7:00 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

Oral Roberts

Frank Gaines lays in two of his team-high 19 vs. ORU

Gaines' 19 Second-Half Points Leads IPFW Past Oral Roberts, 80-77

1/29/2011 10:11:45 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score | Photo Gallery

Fort Wayne, IN - Sophomore forward Frank Gaines scored 19 second-half points as IPFW completed the regular season sweep or Oral Roberts, 80-77 on Saturday night in the Expo Center of the Memorial Coliseum.

The win improves IPFW's record to 14-7 overall and 8-3 in conference play.

The Mastodons rode the shoulders of junior forward Trey McCorkle in the first half. McCorkle tossed in 13 in the opening frame as the 'Dons held a slim, 34-32 lead at the break.

After giving up a bucket inside to ORU forward Damen Bell-Holter to begin the second half, IPFW reeled off 12 straight points. Freshman forward Michael Kibiloski got the run off with a jumper from the left elbow. McCorkle got another hoop in the paint and then Gaines slashed to the hoop for an old-fashioned 3-point play. After that he sank a pair of free throws and hit a 3-pointer to give IPFW a 46-34 lead with 16:29 left.

Then junior guard Jeremy Mixon and Gaines took turns driving to the hoop for scores. Mixon stuck a triple from behind the arc making 57-46 'Dons with 12:48 remaining.

ORU (9-14, 6-5 SL) cut the IPFW lead back to four on a 3-point play by Bell-Holter, but consecutive layups by Gaines, Mixon and junior guard Antwaun Boyd pushed the Mastodon lead back to 10 at 67-57.

The Golden Eagles would make one final run at the three-minute mark. Junior guard Ken Holdman grabbed back-to-back steals, scoring on one layup and assisting on another to senior guard Roderick Pearson to make it 72-70.

ORU guard Warren Niles drove the lane and scored tying the game at 74 with 1:06 left, but senior guard Zach Plackemeier drained a huge triple with :49 left to give IPFW the lead for good.

IPFW, who is the 4th best free throw shooting team in the nation, did it again from the line making 19-20 in the game. The also dominated the glass, outrebounding ORU, 37-26.

Along with Gaines' 19, IPFW got 18 from Mixon, 15 from McCorkle and 14 from Plackemeier. McCorkle was a rebound shy of a double-double and senior guard Ben Botts dished out a career-high seven assists. Gaines blocked a career-high four shots.

Bell-Holter recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He also swatted a career-high four shots for ORU. Junior forward Dominique Morrison added 17, while Niles chipped in 16.

The win keeps IPFW in second place in The Summit League, one-half game ahead of IUPUI who topped Western Illinois, 56-45 on Saturday night. The Mastodons will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Jaguars on Thursday night. The game, at Conseco Fieldhouse, will tip off at 7:00 p.m.

~Dons~