Mastodons Keep Perfect Summit Record with Win over Jackrabbits

Saturday, January 11

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

14-5, 2-0Summit

South Dakota State

9-8, 1-1Summit

South Dakota State

IPFW

Mastodons Keep Perfect Summit Record with Win over Jackrabbits

1/11/2014 9:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOX SCORE | BOX SCORE (.pdf) | BOX SCORE (.html)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons improved to 14-5 overall and 2-0 in the Summit League, as the squad defeated the defending Summit League Champions, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, by an 82-75 score on Saturday night.

Luis Jacobo tied a season-high with 24 points, as the 'Dons continued their best start to a season in the team's NCAA Division I era, and the fourth-best overall. Steve Forbes scored 16, while Mo Evans and Joe Reed each added 11 points. IPFW out-rebounded South Dakota State 36-to-29, as three players - Pierre Bland, Forbes, and Reed - each pulled down five boards.

IPFW held a 42-to-16 advantage in points in the paint, while the Mastodon reserves out-scored their South Dakota State counterparts 24-to-9. Bland and Isaiah McCray each dished out four assists, while Evans had a trio of steals.

The win for IPFW snapped an eight-game SDSU win streak in the all-time series between the schools, while capping a Jackrabbit five-game win streak. The win also gives IPFW its third win streak of four games or more this year.

South Dakota State came out firing, scoring five points on its first two possessions of the game; however, the Mastodons answered back with eight consecutive points to take an 8-5 lead on a three-pointer by Jacobo. The Jackrabbits climbed to within one, but would not be able to take back their lead in the first half.

After SDSU cut the gap to one, IPFW used a 9-2 run to take to an eight-point lead, the Mastodons' largest lead of the half. The visitors kept chipping away at the IPFW advantage, and eventually tied the game at 42 with 1:20 to play, but a Jacobo lay-in with 25 seconds left sent the Mastodons into the locker room with a 44-42 lead.

The Mastodons got a lay-in from Forbes and a three-pointer by Kibiloski to score the first five points of the second half, charging to a 49-42 lead just over a minute into the second stanza. The Jackrabbits answered with a 10-0 run, taking a three-point lead three and a half minutes into the final half - the team's first lead since the early portions of the game.

The lead changed hands five times in the next three minutes. South Dakota State held a one-point, 56-55 lead with 13:12 left in the game before the Mastodons ran off 11 consecutive points, capped by a Forbes tip-in, pushing the 'Dons to a 64-56 lead with eight and a half minutes to play.

The Mastodon lead never reached double-digits; however, the Jackrabbits were never able to push their deficit below four points. IPFW iced the game by hitting 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute and a half of the contest to secure the seven-point victory.

IPFW was 30-of-63 from the field (47.6%), and 8-of-29 from long range (27.6%). The three-point shooting was the team's lowest percentage since November 24 against Kennesaw State where the team hit just 3-of-11.

South Dakota State was led by a career-high effort from Brayden Carlson, who scored 24, while Jordan Dykstra scored 18.

The Mastodons return to action on Thursday, January 16 when the team travels to Denver to take on the Pioneers in the first-ever meeting between the two opponents.

~ Feel the Rumble ~