IPFW Remains Perfect in Conference Play by Topping Western Illinois, 68-55

Thursday, January 6

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7:00 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

Western Illinois

Zach Plackemeier's 16 point effort leads IPFW past Western Illinois

IPFW Remains Perfect in Conference Play by Topping Western Illinois, 68-55

1/6/2011 10:02:39 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score | Photo Gallery

Fort Wayne, IN - IPFW got a game-high 16 points from senior guard Zach Plackemeier and 20 points from their bench to remain perfect in Summit League play, topping Western Illinois 68-55 on Thursday night at the Memorial Coliseum.

With the win, IPFW improves to 10-4 overall and 5-0 in the conference.

The Mastodons kept pace with Oakland (10-8, 5-0), who downed IUPUI, 85-71 at home.

The 'Dons led from wire-to-wire, taking an early four-point lead on a jumper by senior guard Ben Botts.

Junior guard Jeremy Mixon came off the bench to give the Mastodons a spark, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, making it 14-9 midway through the first half.

After a Plackemeier triple and a bucket inside by junior forward Trey McCorkle, the 'Dons pushed their lead to 10 and took a seven-point lead into half, 30-23.

Western Illinois opened the second half on a 10-5 run, cutting the IPFW lead to just two as sophomore forward Jack Houpt drilled a wide-open three.

But from there, the Mastodons went on a 15-6 run of their own to make it 50-39. The run was sparked by a slashing drive and dunk and 3-pointer by senior forward Oleg Kovalov.

Plackemeier finished off the run with one of his four triples and the 'Dons would cruise the rest of the way.

Plackemeier led four Mastodons in double-digit scoring. McCorkle tossed in 13, sophomore guard Frank Gaines chipped in 11 and Mixon finished with 10.

WIU senior guard Matt Lander led the Leathernecks (6-8, 1-3 SL) with 16 points of his own. Junior guard Tommie Tyler also had double figures with 11.

IPFW, who shot 48.9% from the floor, was a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe. It was the first time the Mastodons had an unblemished evening from the foul line since going and identical 12-12 at North Dakota State on February 26, 2006.

Next up for the Mastodons are the IUPUI Jaguars (8-9, 2-2 SL) on Saturday afternoon. Game time is 2:00 p.m.

~Dons~