Men's Basketball Falls in Thriller in Champaign 57-55

Friday, November 29

Champaign, Ill.

8 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

6-3

Illinois

7-0

IPFW

Illinois

Men's Basketball Falls in Thriller in Champaign 57-55

11/29/2013 11:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOX SCORE | BOX SCORE (.pdf) | BOX SCORE (.html)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The IPFW men's basketball team led by eight at halftime, before the Illinois Fighting Illini fought back, clipping the Mastodons by a 57-55 final score in front of 15,638 fans at the State Farm Center.

The Mastodons put four players into double-figure scoring, led by Luis Jacobo's 15 points, while Pierre Bland scored 12, as Steve Forbes and Mo Evans each scored 11. Joe reed pulled down seven rebounds, as the Mastodons out-rebounded the Illini 39-fo-33 in the game.

Pierre Bland dished out three assists, while Isaiah McCray and Joe Reed each had two steals in the loss.

Illinois jumped out quickly in the game, leading by seven at 12-5 with 15:54 to play in the first half; however, the Mastodons answered back with eight straight points on a pair of Jacobo three-point baskets and a Bland lay-in, putting the 'Dons ahead at 13-12.

The teams battled back-and-forth with Illinois holding onto a 24-23 lead before IPFW ran off 12 consecutive points, holding Illinois scoreless for over six minutes late in the first half, as the Mastodons pushed ahead to an 11-point, 35-24 lead, before a three-point-play by Tracy Abrams cut the deficit to eight at 35-27 heading into the locker room at halftime.

IPFW led by as many as nine in the second half on a Jacobo jumper with 17:13 to play in the game before the hosts ran off 10 consecutive points to take a one-point, 41-40 lead with 13:31 to play in the contest.

Over the final 13:31, the largest lead gained by either team was four, as there were three tie scores and nine lead changes over the final stretch of the game.

A lay-in by Bland with 2:58 left in the game capped a five-point run by the senior from Jacksonville, giving the 'Dons a one-point, 53-52 lead, the squad's final advantage of the contest.

The Mastodons, trailing by two after an Illinois free throw with 25 seconds on the clock, were forced into a turnover, where Rayvonte Rice hit a pair of free throws to put the hosts ahead by four - the largest Illini lead of the second half. Bland responded with a lay-in with 1.6 seconds left on the clock, but the 'Dons couldn't get any closer in the 57-55 loss.

IPFW hit 23-of-53 shots from the field (43.4%) and 7-of-17 shots (41.2%) from long range. The achilles heel for the Mastodons came from the charity stripe, where the team hit just 2-of-13 free throws (15.4%), including going 1-of-8 in the first half. Illinois was held to 39.2 percent (20-of-51) shooting from the field, and 19% (4-of-21) from long range.

Illinois was led by Rice, who scored a game-high 17 points, with Abrams adding 15 in the win.

The Mastodons return to action on Tuesday, December 3, when the squad travels, to Oxford, Ohio, to take on the Miami RedHawks in a 7 p.m. tip-off from Millett Hall.

~ Feel the Rumble ~