Mastodons Open Homestand Against Thunderbirds

PRE-GAME NOTES

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - IPFW looks to snap out of its current three-game losing skid, as the program opens the new year with four straight games at home, the first of those on January 3, when the squad hosts the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah.

Opponent: Southern Utah Thunderbirds (7-6, 2-1 Summit League)
When: Tuesday, January 3, 2012 | 7 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Memorial Coliseum (5,800)
Radio: ESPN 1380 AM (Kent Hormann, play-by-play; Jeff Parrish, analyst)
Live Stats: IPFW Sidearm Live Stats
Streaming Video: Mastodon All-Access

SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS
Southern Utah comes into tonight's game after winning three in a row with victories over UC Davis, South Dakota, and UMKC.

In the team's most recent win, a 91-77 road win at UMKC, the team scored 57 second-half points, as five players reached double-figures in the scoring column, led by Ramell Taylor's 21 points, as Matt Massey scored 19.

Taylor averages a team-best 13.2 points per game for the Thunderbirds, as three others, Jackson Steventt (12.8), Damon Heuir (11.3), and Matt Massey (11.2) also average in double digits. Point guard Ray Jones Jr. is just off of the double-figure pace, averaging 9.3 points per game, while dishing out 6.0 assists per contest, which is also tops in the Summit League and 24th best in the country.

Jones Jr. also leads the team with 15 steaks, three ahead of teammate Jordan Johnson with a dozen, while Stevenett has a team-best seven blocked shots.

AT THE SUMMIT
• On Dec. 26, The Summit League ranked No. 13 in both the Sagarin Ratings and Collegiate Basketball News RPI (rpiratings.com). The Summit League's peak positions were No. 11 in the RPI and No. 12 in the Sagarin Ratings, both as recently as Dec. 19. Last season, the league fi nished No. 18 in the Sagarin and No. 21 in the RPI.
• Through Dec. 23, The Summit League has a winning percentage of .500 or better against 15 of the 17 midmajor conferences its teams have played this season.
• Through Dec. 23, The Summit League owns a .511 winning percentage against non-league Division I opposition and a .587 winning percentage against all non-league competition. Those clips are on pace to shatter the previous best marks on record (since 1998-99), surpassing the .447 D1 winning percentage and .491 overall clip, both set during the 2001-02 season.
• The Summit League had three players among the NCAA's Top 11 in scoring average (Dec. 19 rankings), more than any other Division I conference. IUPUI's Alex Young owned the nation's highest single-game scoring total this season (43) while Oakland's Reggie Hamilton was tied for second (41).

HIGH SCORER
According to the latest NCAA Statistical rankings, IPFW junior Frank Gaines currently ranks 13th in the country in points per game, averaging 20.3 per contest. He has reached the 20-point plateau in nine of the team's 13 games this season

LAST TIME OUT
The IPFW Mastodons used a 14-0 run in the first half to jump ahead early; however, North Dakota State answered with a 14-0 run of its own with nine minutes to play in the game, and the Bison made 22 of their last 24 free throws in the game to pull away to an 84-68 win at the Bison Sports Arena on Friday evening.

Frank Gaines scored a game-high-tying 26 points, making 10-of-23 shots from the field, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Justin Jordan scored an IPFW career-high 14 points, hitting 4-of-8 of his shots from beyond the three-point arc, while Trey McCorkle added 10.

John Peckinpaugh pulled down a team-leading six rebounds, five of those on the offensive end, while Mario Hines grabbed five in the losing effort. Antwaun Boyd dished out a game-high four assists, while he, Gaines, and McCorkle each finished the game with two steals apiece.

FEAR THE BEARD
If IPFW senior forward Trey McCorkle reminds you of Grizzly Adams (who did have a beard after all), it is no coincidence. After growing a semi-respectable beard last season, McCorkle, for no reason whatsoever, decided to grow his out for the 2011-12 season. There is no timetable yet on the next time that the Danville, Illinois native will shave again. He claims to have taken to San Franciso Giant closer Brian Wilson as a facial hair role model.

QUICK HITTERS
• Frank Gaines currently sits third in the Summit League and 16th in NCAA Division I in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game.
• After totaling one double-double over his first three seasons, IPFW senior Trey McCorkle has picked up two in the first 13 games of the 2011-12 season.
• IPFW head coach Tony Jasick is 7-6 in his first season as head coach of the Mastodons
• Gaines saw his 19-game double-figure scoring streak snapped at Nebraska Omaha on December 11, being held to seven points. He has scored 20 or more in 11 of his last 15 games.
• Freshman Jonny Marlin's 4.6 assist per game average is fourth best in the Summit League and 83rd in the country
• Trey McCorkle's field goal percentage of .600 puts him 17th in the country
• IPFW has an RPI of 209 in the first RPI rankings released for the 2011-12 season. Southern Utah ranks 272nd.
• IPFW is 4-5 all-time on January 3.

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Mastodons Open Homestand Against Thunderbirds

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