IPFW to Open 2014 at Bowling Green

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons open the 2014 calendar year in Bowling Green, Ohio, as the squad takes on the Bowling Green Falcons in a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Stroh Center.

Opponent: Bowling Green Falcons (6-6)
When: Thursday, January 2, 2014 | 7 p.m.
Where: Bowling Green, Ohio | Stroh Center
Radio: WKJG 1380 AM The Fan | Kent Hormann, play-by-play
Live Stats: BGSU Sidearm Live Stats
Live Video: America One Sports (Subscription required)

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

Bowling Green comes into the first game of the 2014 calendar year after seeing its three-game win streak snapped in a 46-43 loss at Wright State.

In the loss to the Raiders, the Falcons were led by a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double from Richaun Holmes, as Spencer Parker scored 11. Wright State jumped out to a 14-point second-half lead, only to see the Falcons battle back with a 19-6 run over the final 11:23 of the game, but could not overcome the total amount.

Richaun Holmes scores a team-best 14.0 points per game, leading four active players in double-figure scoring. Parker averages 12.8, while Jehvon Clarke and Anthony Henderson average 11.6 and 11.1 points per game each.

Holmes pulls down 7.4 rebounds per game for the Falcons, who get out-rebounded by one half of a rebound per game. Holmes also leads the team with 38 blocked shots, over three per game.

Clarke averages 4.7 assists to lead the team, while sitting second on the team with 24 steals, second only to Henderson's 26.

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. After climbing to as high as 23 last week, the Mastodons stand in the "Also Receiving Votes" area this week.

FAST START

IPFW's 10-5 start this season is tied for the fifth-best 15-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 eight different players lead the team in scoring at least once in the team's 15 games, with six players 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 STAR

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 12 games with the Red Claws, Gaines is averaging 17.2 points per game, which ranks second on his squad and 21st in the D-League. In his last game, a win over Delaware, Gaines went for a D-League career-high 33 points, hitting 17-of-20 free throws, and pulling down five rebounds. The Red Claws are 6-6 on the season, as Gaines has hit 43.9% of his three-point attempts, and 44.2% of his field goals this season.

IPFW VS. THE MAC

Of the 12 teams in the MAC, IPFW has faced off against seven of the schools with an overall record of 4-22 against teams in the league, and are 2-2 all-time under the guidance of current head coach Tony Jasick. IPFW has played seven times against Kent State, and have a 2-1 record against Bowling Green, the Mastodons' best record against any team in the conference.

LAST TIME OUT

Leading by nine halfway through the first half, the IPFW Mastodons went on a scoring drought, as the Eastern Kentucky Colonels ran off a 21-4 run to take a lead they would not relinquish in a 90-68 EKU victory.

In a battle between two teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, 23rd ranked IPFW (10-5) was led by Mo Evans who scored 13 points off of the bench. Joe Edwards scored 12 while Isaiah McCray added 10 for the Mastodons. Two players - Pierre Bland and Michael Kibilsoki - scored nine points with Luis Jacobo scoring eight.

Bland and Steve Forbes each pulled down a team-best four rebounds, as Edwards dished out four assists.

IPFW came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 10-1 lead through the first three minutes of the game behind five points from Edwards. After 22nd ranked Eastern Kentucky (9-4) fought to within one at 12-11, the Mastodons opened a 10-2 run, pushing ahead by nine at 22-13.

Over the next six and a half minutes the Mastodon offense hit a lull, hitting just 1-of-7 shots from the field and committed four turnovers. That offensive drought was compounded by an EKU offensive surge, as the Colonels went 7-of-8 from the field - including 3-of-3 from long range - running off a 21-4 streak to turn the nine-point deficit into an eight-point advantage.

The Mastodons clawed their way back to a five-point deficit after a three-pointer by Kibiloski; however, the visitors closed the first half on an 8-2 run to take a 46-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.

An EKU 8-3 run to start the second half put the margin into double-digits for good, as the Mastodons fell at home for the first time in the 2013-14 season.

IPFW shot 20-of-45 from the field (44.4%), 5-of-15 (33.3%) from long range, and 23-of-30 (76.7%). The Colonels - behind a blistering 61.3% in the first half - hit 37-of-63 shots for the game (58.7%), and 11-of-21 (52.4%) from three-point range.

For just the fourth time this season the Mastodons were out-rebounded, as the Colonels held a 32-26 advantage on the boards, led by Eric Stutz' nine rebounds and 16 points. Marcus Lewis scored 17, leading five Colonel players in double-figure scoring.

HEAD COACH TONY JASICK

IPFW Head Coach Tony Jasick is 37-41 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.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

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