Men's Basketball Closes Homestand Against Bison

PREGAME NOTES

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons host the North Dakota State Bison at the Gates Sports Center, the team's final contest on campus this season.

Opponent: North Dakota State Bison (18-6, 9-3 Summit)
When: Saturday, February 9, 2013 | 7 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind, | Gates Sports Center (2,000)
Radio: WKJG ESPN Radio 1380 AM | Kent Hormann, play-by-play; Jeff Parrish, analyst
Live Stats: IPFW Live Stats
Streaming Video: Mastodon All-Access

SCOUTING THE BISON

North Dakota State comes into the game having dropped three of its last five games, as the squad is playing without leading scorer Taylor Braun, who is averaging 15.2 points per game in the team's first 18 contests.

In the team's last game, a 66-63 loss at Oakland, Lawrence Alexander scored 21 points while dishing out seven assists, as TrayVonn Wright scored 12 with 13 rebounds, and Marshall Bjorklund 12 points and nine boards.

Leading the way for the team's active players is Bjorklund, who averages 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while leading NCAA Division I in field goal percentage, making 69.7 percent (124-of-178) of his shots this season.

Alexander and Wright each average in double figures at 10.3 and 10.2 points per game, while Mike Felt averages 9.0. Alexander has a team-best 100 assists on the season, as Wright has blocked 40 shots for the Bison.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE BISON

The IPFW Mastodons went on a furious second-half rally to cut a 16-point North Dakota State lead down to just three; however, the Bison closed the game strong, ending the contest on a 10-1 run to claim a 67-55 Summit League victory on Thursday evening at the Bison Sports Arena.

Luis Jacobo scored a game-high 21 points, hitting 5-of-12 from long range, while Frank Gaines scored a dozen and Joe Edwards eight. Mario Hines and Michael Kibiloski each scored a half dozen in the loss. Hines pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, with Jacobo, Isaiah McCray, and Pierre Bland each giving out a trio of assists.

Mario Hines got things going for IPFW (8-10, 1-3 Summit) in the game when he put home a tip-dunk on the game's first possession; however, the host Bison ran off a 9-2 run to lead 9-4 with 15:33 to play in the half.

The NDSU (14-3, 5-0 Summit) lead grew to as many as six after a Mike Felt lay-in, but the Mastodons fought back, and took a three-point lead with 7:54 to play after Jacobo scored nine straight IPFW points in three consecutive possessions.

The 'Dons led by one after Jacobo's third three-pointer of the half, but that would be the last lead of the half, as NDSU ran off six straight points, and took a five-point, 37-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Bison came out firing in the second half, scoring 13 of the first 15 points of the period to push to a 50-34 lead six and a half minutes into the stanza.

Trailing by its largest margin of the game, the Mastodons responded by getting three straight three pointers, two from Michael Kibiloski and the third from Jacobo, closing the gap to seven at 50-43 with 11:34 remaining on the clock.

The Mastodons fought back to within as few as three at 57-54 with 4:07 to play after Jacobo's fifth and final three-point basket, as the Bison went 4-of-6 from the field over the final four minutes to secure the 12-point win.

IPFW went 20-of-53 from the field in the loss, while converting on 10-of-26 from long range, and 5-of-9 from the charity stripe. McCray had a game-high three steals, while Gaines added a pair.

IPFW dished out 13 assists as a team against just eight turnovers, but the 'Dons were out-rebounded 32-to-25 by the Bison, who hit 57.1 percent (28-of-49) from the field, 4-of-15 from long range, and 7-of-10 on free throws.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The IPFW Mastodons hold a narrow 8-7 lead in the all-time series between the two teams, with the Mastodons winning five of the last seven meetings, with the only win by the Bison coming in Fargo in the last two seasons.

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 three games (the first three of ten guaranteed games to the season), he has been averaging 30 points per game, raising his scoring average from 18.0 to its current standing of 19.5.

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).

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Men's Basketball Closes Homestand Against Bison

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