Men's Basketball Looks to Snap Skid Thursday against Kangaroos

PREGAME NOTES

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The IPFW men's basketball looks to snap its current three-game losing skid on Thursday evening, as the IPFW Mastodons face off against the Kansas City Kangaroos in an 8 p.m. EST tip-off at the Swinney Recreation Center.

Opponent: Kansas City Kangaroos (7-19, 4-8 Summit League)
When: Thursday, February 14, 2013 | 8 p.m. EST
Where: Kansas City, Mo. | Swinney Recreation Center (1,504)
Radio: WKJG ESPN Radio 1380 AM | Mike Couzens, play-by-play
Live Stats: UMKC Live Stats
Live Video Streaming: UMKC All-Access (subscription required)

SCOUTING THE KANGAROOS

Kansas City heads into the Valentines Night game with IPFW with a 7-19 overall record; however, the Kangaroos snapped a five-game losing skid last Saturday against South Dakota with an 80-65 win.

In the win, Fred Chatmon scored 20 points, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the field and pulling down seven rebounds, while Nate Rogers scored 17, Kirk Korver 15, and Estan Tyler 14. Brad Reid was just off of the double-figure pace with eight points, as the 'Roos out-scored the Coyotes 42-34 in the second half after jumping out to a seven-point first half lead.

For the season Kansas City has just one person averaging in double-figure scoring, as Tyler averages 11.2 points per game, with Thomas Staton close behind at 9.8 tallies per contest. Chatmon averages 7.4, while Rogers puts up 7.2, while three others, Nelson Kirksey (6.6), Korver (6.2) and Trinity Hall (6.1) average over six points per game.

Chatmon leads the team with a rebounding average of 7.6 per game, nearly double that of his nearest teammate (Hall / 3.9). Tyler has dished out 80 assists, while Chatmon leads the team with 27 blocked shots. Rogers leads two 'Roos with 20 more more steals with 26, as Staton has 24.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE KANGAROOS

The IPFW Mastodons held Kansas City to just seven points over the final five minutes of the game; however, the IPFW offense was equally as cold, scoring just one point over the final 5:15 of the contest, giving the Mastodons their first home loss of the season by a 63-59.

Frank Gaines led IPFW with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, while Mario Hines scored 13 and Joe reed 10. Pierre Bland and Michael Kibiloski each pulled down four rebounds for IPFW, while Isaiah McCray gave out a game-high three assists.

The Mastodons (9-12, 2-5 Summit League) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the game, and pushed the lead to 18-9 with just under eight minutes to play in the opening stanza. The Kangaroos chipped away at the lead, using an 8-0 run to cut the gap to one, and took their first lead of the half on a Thomas Staton jumper with 48 seconds in the period.

IPFW took a one-point, 25-24 lead with 31 seconds left on a Hines three-point play, but a Estan Tyler jumper at the buzzer sent the visitors into the locker room with a 26-25 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.

The late first half momentum carried over for Kansas City (6-14, 3-5 Summit) into the second half, as the visitors scored the first five points of the period to take a six-point, 31-25 lead.

The lead remained at six with 18:28 to play before the 'Dons rattled off 10 of the next 13 points to lead by one at 37-36. the lead changed hands five times in a two minute span, before UMKC pushed ahead by three at 44-41.

IPFW took a two-point lead on back-to-back three-point plays by Reed, and led by three after a three-pointer by Kibiloski with 6:01 left on the clock. A Gaines lay-in with 5:16 to play provided the last basket for the Mastodons, as the Kangaroos ended the game on a 7-1 run to claim the four-point win.

Estan Tyler scored a game-high 19 points for Kansas City, while Staton scored 14, and Trinity Hall and Kirk Korver each added 11.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The IPFW Mastodons are deadlocked in their all-time series with the Kansas City Kangaroos. In each of the first eight meetings, the home team proved victorious; however, the last four meetings have turned the tables, with the road team going undefeated, including a 63-59 Kansas City win earlier this season.

LATE SEASON PUSH

Over the last three seasons, IPFW senior Frank Gaines has been strong throughout the season; however, has been stellar in the last 10 games of the season. As a sophomore he played through his first 20 games of the season averaging 12.7 points; however, in the last 10 he averaged 19.1, driving his season average to 14.8. Last season after game 20 he was averaging 19.8, and erupted late with a 22.9 point per game average over the last 10. This season, over the last four games (the first four of ten guaranteed games to the season), he has been averaging 26.5 points per game, raising his scoring average from 18.0 to its current standing of 19.3.

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).

CLIMBING THE SUMMIT LEAGUE LADDER

IPFW's Frank Gaines has 1,692 career points, a total that not only put him second in school history, but into 22nd place in the Summit League record book. Additionally, his 466 free throw makes rank him inside of the top-10 in Summit League history.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Men's Basketball Looks to Snap Skid Thursday against Kangaroos

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos