Forbes Sets Career High as Mastodons Topple Panthers 86-65

Saturday, December 21

Fort Wayne, Ind.

2 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

10-4

Eastern Illinois

3-8

Eastern Illinois

IPFW

Photo by: Lucas Carter

Forbes Sets Career High as Mastodons Topple Panthers 86-65

12/21/2013 5:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons hit 63 percent of their shots in the first half, and jumped out to a 54-39 lead at halftime before cruising to an 86-65 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers at the Gates Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

The win improves IPFW to 10-4 on the year, tied for the best 14-game start to a season since the program became a member of NCAA Division I in 2001-02. The start is also the fourth-best in the entire history of the program.

Steve Forbes scored a career-high 20 points for IPFW, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the field and all eight of his charity stripe attempts. Luis Jacobo added 18 points, while Isaiah McCray scored 15 and Mo Evans 12. Two others - Pierre Bland and Michael Kibiloski - finished two points shy of double-figures in the game.

Forbes, Evans, and Jacobo each pulled down a game-high-tying six rebounds, with the Mastodons out-rebounding Eastern Illinois 37-to-30. McCray and Joe Edwards dished out four assists apiece for IPFW, who had a team total of 16-to-7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Panthers (3-8) scored first, just 27 seconds into the contest; however, the Mastodons used a jumper by Forbes and a three-pointer by Bland to push ahead 5-2, and never trailed again in the game. EIU cut the deficit to one at 5-4 before the Mastodons ran off eight straight points to lead 13-4.

After Eastern Illinois cut into the deficit at 15-11, IPFW scored 10 straight, culminating with a lay-in by McCray to take the margin to 14 at 25-11. The Panthers briefly dropped the margin to single digits late in the first half, but an Evans three-pointer sent the Mastodons into the locker room with a 15-point, 54-39 advantage at halftime.

Eastern Illinois scored 10 seconds into the second half, which was immediately followed by an 11-0 IPFW run - the last eight points coming from Forbes - pushing the Mastodons to a 24-point lead. The IPFW advantage reached as many as 25, as the hosts cruised to the 21-point win.

For the game the Mastodons made 29-of-53 of their shots (54.7%), and 13-of-23 (56.5%) from beyond the arc. Eastern Illinois converted on 25-of-62 shots from the field (40.3%), 6-of-21 (28.6%) from long range, and 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the charity stripe.

Alex Austin led four players in double-figure scoring for Eastern Illinois with 16 points, while Sherman Blanford scored a dozen.

The Mastodons get an eight-day break without a game, next facing off against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a 2 p.m. tip-off. The game is the first of a men's / women's doubleheader on the day, and the third straight home game for IPFW against foes from the Ohio Valley Conference.

NOTES: The best 14-game start to a season came in 1988-89 and 1992-93 (10-2), while the 1989-90 team started 11-3. The 1996-97 and 2010-11 teams also started 10-4. Steve Forbes became the sixth different player this season to score 20 or more points in a game.

~ Feel the Rumble ~