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Sunday, December 29
Fort Wayne, Ind.
2 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne
vs
Eastern Kentucky
Photo by: Lucas Carter
Mastodons To Host Battle of Mid-Major Top-25 Squads
12/27/2013 1:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PREGAME NOTES
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons play host to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, in a battle of CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 programs, as the Mastodons sit 23rd, and Colonels 22nd.
Opponent: Eastern Kentucky Colonels (8-4)
When: Sunday, December 29 | 2 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
Radio: WKJG 1380 AM The Fan | Kent Hormann, play-by-play; Brett Rump, analyst
Live Stats: IPFW Sidearm Live Stats
Live Video: IPFW All-Access
STARTING STRONG
IPFW VS. THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
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.
HEAD COACH TONY JASICK
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons play host to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, in a battle of CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 programs, as the Mastodons sit 23rd, and Colonels 22nd.
Opponent: Eastern Kentucky Colonels (8-4)
When: Sunday, December 29 | 2 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
Radio: WKJG 1380 AM The Fan | Kent Hormann, play-by-play; Brett Rump, analyst
Live Stats: IPFW Sidearm Live Stats
Live Video: IPFW All-Access
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Eastern Kentucky heads to Fort Wayne in the return trip from the February 18, 2012 BracketBuster game, won by Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels started the year 6-1, but are 2-3 in the team's last five games.
In the most recent game, an 84-73 win over North Carolina A&T, Marcus Lewis scored a team-best 20 points, hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field. Glenn Cosey scored 19 points and Corey Walden 10. Eric Stutz, Cosey, and Lewis each pulled down three rebounds for the Colonels, who were out-rebounded 36-to-18 in the game. The squad overcame the lopsided rebounding margin with 21 assists against just nine turnovers, while forcing 19 Aggie turnovers.
This season the Colonels have four players averaging in double-figures, led by Cosey's 19.4 point per game average, which ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Lewis (12.0), Walden (11.5), and Orlando Williams (11.0) all average above the double-figure mark, while Stutz (6.4), and Tarius Johnson (6.0) average more than six points per game.
Walden and Stutz lead the team in rebounding, each pulling down 4.3 boards per game, as the Colonels have given up 123 offensive rebounds - over 10 per game - while getting out-rebounded by an average of seven rebounds per contest. Cosey has dished out 56 assists - 4.7 per game - while Lewis has a team-best 26 steals.
In the most recent game, an 84-73 win over North Carolina A&T, Marcus Lewis scored a team-best 20 points, hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field. Glenn Cosey scored 19 points and Corey Walden 10. Eric Stutz, Cosey, and Lewis each pulled down three rebounds for the Colonels, who were out-rebounded 36-to-18 in the game. The squad overcame the lopsided rebounding margin with 21 assists against just nine turnovers, while forcing 19 Aggie turnovers.
This season the Colonels have four players averaging in double-figures, led by Cosey's 19.4 point per game average, which ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Lewis (12.0), Walden (11.5), and Orlando Williams (11.0) all average above the double-figure mark, while Stutz (6.4), and Tarius Johnson (6.0) average more than six points per game.
Walden and Stutz lead the team in rebounding, each pulling down 4.3 boards per game, as the Colonels have given up 123 offensive rebounds - over 10 per game - while getting out-rebounded by an average of seven rebounds per contest. Cosey has dished out 56 assists - 4.7 per game - while Lewis has a team-best 26 steals.
MID-MAJOR RANKING
Last week, for the first time in program history, the IPFW men's basketball team has appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, sitting at 25th in the poll. This week the squad climbed to No. 23, a spot behind today's foe, Eastern Kentucky.
FAST START
IPFW's 10-4 start this season is tied for the fourth-best 14-game start in program history, and tied for the best start in IPFW's NCAA Division I era.
BALANCING ACT
This season, IPFW has employed a balanced offensive attack that has seen six different players lead the team in scoring at least once in the team's eight games, with seven players scoring at least 19 points in a game this year, with six of those reaching the 20-point plateau.
STARTING STRONG
IPFW head coach Tony Jasick has used the same starting lineup: Pierre Bland, Isaiah McCray, Joe Edwards, Michael Kibiloski, and Steve Forbes; for each of the first 13 games of this season, the longest season-opening stretch of games for the same starting five.
DRAFTED START
Former Mastodon standout Frank Gaines, was been selected with the first pick in the second round by the Maine Red Claws in the 2013 NBA Development League draft. In nine games with the Red Claws, Gaines is averaging 16.2 points per game, which ranks second on his squad and 25th in the D-League. The Red Claws are 5-4 on the season, as Gaines has hit 45.5% of his three-point attempts, and 43.9% of his field goals this season.
IPFW VS. THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
IPFW has faced off against eight of the 12 teams currently in the Ohio Valley Conference. This season IPFW will face or has faced four teams in the Ohio Valley Conference including Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, SIUE, and Tennessee Tech.
LAST TIME OUT
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.
HEAD COACH TONY JASICK
IPFW Head Coach Tony Jasick is 37-40 in his third season as head coach, and is tied for fifth with Gordon Stauffer, who went 37-68, and three wins away from tying Doug Noll for fourth. Below is a complete list of every coach in program history, and their career records.
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