IPFW Looks to Win Second Straight Road Battle on Saturday

PREGAME NOTES

VERMILLION, S.D. - The IPFW Mastodons look to win their second straight road game, while forcing the South Dakota Coyotes into their fourth straight home loss on Saturday, as the teams face battle at 7 p.m. at the Dakota Dome.

Opponent: South Dakota Coyotes (8-17, 4-9 Summit League)
When: Saturday, February 16, 2013 | 8 p.m. EST
Where: Vermillion, S.D. | Dakota Dome (10,000)
Radio: WKJG ESPN Radio 1380 AM | Mike Couzens, play-by-play
Live Stats: South Dakota Live Stats
Video Streaming: South Dakota All-Access

SCOUTING THE COYOTES
South Dakota comes into the Saturday after dropping three straight home games, the most recent a 76-75 loss to Oakland on Thursday night.

In the game against Oakland, Juevol Myles and Brandon Bos scored 23 and 22 points, each, as the duo combined for 60 percent of the team's points in the game. Steve Tecker scored eight, while Trevor Gruis put up seven in the narrow loss. Bos pulled down a team-best six rebounds, while Casey Kasperbauer dished out a team-high six assists.

This season the Coyotes are led by Myles who averages 15.4 per game. Gruis and Bos average 11.4 and 11.0 per game, while Karim Rowson averages 9.0 and Kasperbauer 8.5. Gruis averages 5.8 rebounds per game, while Myles has dished out a team-high 68 assists. Tyler Flack leads the team with 34 blocked shots, while Myles has 34 steals.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE COYOTES
The IPFW Mastodons used a 9-1 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a one-point advantage, before battling back-and-forth over the final five minutes of the game to remain perfect at home with a 62-60 win over the South Dakota Coyotes in Summit League play.

Frank Gaines led a trio of Mastodon players in double-figures with 14 points, while Luis Jacobo scored 13, and Joe Edwards 12. Mario Hines pulled down six rebounds, with Michael Kibiloski grabbing five. Pierre Bland dished out a game-high five assists in the win.

In the first half the visiting Coyotes (7-12, 3-4 Summit) ran out to a 11-2 lead through the first five minutes of the game, the largest lead for South Dakota in the contest. The Mastodons were unable to take a lead in the opening period, despite climbing to within two after a Luis Jacobo three-pointer with 7:51 to play in the half, as USD took a four-point, 30-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half remained much of the same as the Coyote lead grew to as many as seven on a Jordan Boots three-pointer with 11:55 to play in the game, before IPFW (9-11, 2-4 Summit) scored nine of the next 10 points, five of those by Gaines, taking the team's first lead at 49-48 on a Gaines free throw with 6:42 to play.

The last six and a half minutes of the game were back-and-forth, as the Coyotes took their final lead of the game at 58-57 when Brandon Bos drained a baseline jumper with 52 seconds to play.

Jacobo followed with a lay-in on the next possession, as IPFW iced the game by making 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 62-60 Summit League win.

IPFW went 24-of-56 from the field (42.9%), but hit just 2-of-15 (13.3%) from long range, converting on 12-of-15 (80.0%) from the charity stripe. South Dakota shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, and 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from long range.

Trevor Gruis scored a game-high 15 points while pulling down seven rebounds, while Bos scored a dozen. Tyler Flack also grabbed seven rebounds, as the Coyotes out-rebounded IPFW 31-to-29 in the game.

ALL-TIME SERIES
In the brief all-time series with the South Dakota Coyotes, the home team has prevailed in each of the previous three meetings, including a 62-60 IPFW win at the Memorial Coliseum earlier this year.

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 five games (the first five of ten guaranteed games to the season), he has been averaging 24.4 points per game, raising his scoring average from 18.0 to its current standing of 19.2.

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 LADDER
IPFW's Frank Gaines has 1,708 career points, a total that not only put him second in school history, but into a tie for 20th place in the Summit League record book. Additionally, his 473 free throw makes rank him inside of the top-10 in Summit League history.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

IPFW Looks to Win Second Straight Road Battle on Saturday

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