Tony Jasick and the 'Dons Head West to Omaha

PREGAME NOTES

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons will look to increase their win streak to two on Thursday night when the squad faces off against the Mavericks of Omaha in an 8 p.m. (EST) tip-off at the Ralston Arena.

Opponent: Omaha Mavericks (7-16, 4-6 Summit League)
When: Thursday, January 31, 2013 | 8 p.m. EST
Where: Omaha, Neb. | Ralston Arena (3,500)
Radio: WKJG ESPN Radio 1380 AM | Mike Maahs, play-by-play
Live Stats: Omaha Live Stats
Streaming Video: Omaha All-Access

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS

Omaha comes into the Thursday meeting having won its last two games on the road over South Dakota and Kansas City by five and eight points, respectively.

In the win over Kansas City, Justin Simmons scored a game-high 21 points, as the Mavericks overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to rally for the win. John Karhoff scored 16, while CJ Carter added 11.

Simmons has paced the team in scoring this year, averaging 15.5 points per game, while Karhoff puts in 12.2, and Carter 9.2. Welhouse pulls down a team-best 4.7 rebounds per game, as Carter and Karhoff have 55 and 52 assists, each. Simmons leads the team with 32 steals, while Matt Hagerbaumer has blocked a team-best 17 shots.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE MAVERICKS

The IPFW Mastodons improved to 6-0 as home, as the 'Dons were backed by a career-effort from Michael Kibiloski doubled his previous career-high with 26 points, as the Mastodons led for all but two minutes in a 96-78 win over the Omaha Mavericks in a Saturday afternoon matinee.

Kibiloski went 8-of-11 from the field, and 5-of-7 from long range for his 26 points, while Frank Gaines was 14-of-14 from the charity stripe, as he also scored 26 points. Luis Jacobo scored 16 while dishing out a career-high five assists, as Kibiloski also pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Mario Hines scored 12 points and pulled down a dozen rebounds for his second double-double of the season, while also giving out a career-high four assists.

IPFW's 19 assists in the game are a new season-high, as the team's first 11 baskets of the game were assisted with the squad consistently seeking an extra pass to an open player. In the first half overall, the team had assists on 14 of 17 field goals, before dishing out five assists on 11 field goals in the second half.

For the second straight game, the Mastodons hit an even 50 percent of their shots, going 28-of-56 from the field, and had season-highs in both makes and percentage, going 14-of-24 from long range, 58.3%. IPFW's 26 free throw makes were second-most on the team, while the 83.9% is the second-highest this year for the Blue and White.

Omaha opened the game with a long three-point basket on the team's first possession, before Luis Jacobo answered back 21 seconds later to open a 7-0 IPFW run, five of those points coming from Jacobo.

Ahead by seven at 21-14, IPFW ran off eight straight points, including a fast-break three-pointer from Gaines that pushed him over the 1,500-point plateau, just the second player in program history to accomplish the feat.

IPFW's first half lead grew to as many as 21 at 43-22 after a Joe Edwards jumper with 5:03 to play in the half; however, the offense went cold for the remaining five minutes, as the Mavericks closed the gap to nine before Edwards ended the half with a jumper in the lane to send the 'Dons into the locker room at halftime with a 47-36 lead.

In the second half the margin never reached single digits, but also never reached above 18 points, as each team matched the other for the final 20 minutes, with IPFW closing the game on a 9-4 run to push the margin to 18 at the final buzzer.

IPFW out-rebounded Omaha 43-to-25 in the game, a margin of 18, the third-best rebounding margin of the season, and the most since IPFW out-rebounded Judson on November 20. Hines' 12 rebounds were just one of his career-high, while Kibiloski bested his previous best rebounding total by two.

The Mastodons had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the third straight game (19 assists, 15 turnovers), and for the fourth time this season. Isaiah McCray had four of the team's seven steals, while Gains and Hines each had a blocked shot.

Justin Simmons scored 24 points for Omaha, while Marcus Tyus scored 20, and CJ Carter a dozen.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Mastodons have swept the all-time series to this point with the Omaha Mavericks, winning the first two meetings in the 2011-12 season, before winning earlier this year. Last season in Omaha, the Mastodons found themselves trailing by 15 at halftime to force overtime, and later out-scored the Mavericks 15-12 in the overtime session.

OVERTIME IS THE RIGHT TIME

After IPFW's 80-79 overtime win over the IUPUI Jaguars, the Mastodons have won their fourth overtime game in a row, and second this season. IPFW won in overtime over Omaha on December 10, 2011, and toppled UMKC in extra time on December 2, 2010. The Mastodons' last overtime loss came on November 16, 2010 against the Xavier Musketeers. Since becoming a member of NCAA Division I, IPFW is 11-6 in overtime games. The 2009-10 team had three games go into overtime, all three within a five game span (2-1 in those games).

QUICK HITTERS

• IPFW is 8-2 at home this season

• The 19 points allowed in the second half against Western Illinois are tied for the fewest allowed in a second half against a Division I opponent since the Mastodons became a member of NCAA Division I

• IPFW senior Frank Gaines currently has 1,615 career points, second most in a career in IPFW history, and needs 151 more to move into the career lead, passing Sean Gibson (1989-93) who has 1,765 over his career.

• Gaines has climbed into 27th in Summit League history, and needs seven more points to climb into 25th

• As of the latest NCAA Rankings (January 20), IPFW ranks 80tht in steals per game (8.1), and 94th in rebounding margin

(+3.4), while Frank Gaines ranks 33rd in scoring (18.5 points per game)

• Frank Gaines has reached double-figure scoring 74 times in his career and 34 20-point games, but saw his 27-game double-figure streak snapped against Miami (Ohio). His previous time being held to single digits was December 20, 2011 against Purdue.

• Against Judson, IPFW set single-game school records for fewest points allowed (22), and largest margin of victory (70

points)

• Earlier this year in a triple-overtime win over Texas-Pan America, IPFW set single-game school records with 57 free throw attempts, while the team's 63 rebounds are the second-most in school history.

• IPFW is 4-9 all-time on January 31

• Nine of ten IPFW players who have seen action this season have started at least one game

• IPFW is 6-1 this season when leading at halftime, and are 15-5 under Jasick when leading after the first 20 minutes.

• Tony Jasick is the 13th youngest head coach in NCAA Division I

• Eight different players have led the team in scoring this season (including ties), led by Gaines, who has led the team

nine times

• Gaines also stands second in career school history in free throws made and attempted, fourth in rebounding, 7th in blocked shots and 8th in steals

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

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