Men's Basketball Opens League Play At Oral Roberts

What: Fort Wayne Mastodons (11-6, 0-0 SL) at Oral Roberts (5-11, 1-0 SL)
When: Thursday, Jan. 4 | 8:00 PM ET
Where: Mabee Center (10,575) | Tulsa, Okla.
All-Time Series: Oral Roberts leads 10-8
Radio: ESPN 1380 AM/100.9 FM
Talent: John Nolan Link
Live Stats: Link
Live Video: Link
Game Notes (PDF): Fort Wayne | Oral Roberts

'DONS AND ENDS
- The 'Dons have won five of their last six games.
- Bryson Scott has led the 'Dons in scoring in 11 of Fort Wayne's 17 games this season.
- John Konchar is second in the nation in total minutes played (578).
- In his career, John Konchar has started all 32 Summit League games he has played. He is averaging 36.9 minutes per game in league games.
- Only 35 teams in the nation have more victories on the season than Fort Wayne's 11.
- All-time, the 'Dons are 4-6 in Summit League openers.
- Bryson Scott is shooting 84.6 percent from the free throw line this year. Up from 69.3 percent last season.
- Dylan Carl is averaging 7.5 points per game over his last four games, (he didn't play against Concordia). That total includes 14 points against Indiana and nine vs. Louisiana Tech.
Over Fort Wayne's last five games...
- Matt Weir has 18 assists and only two turnovers over 113 minutes played.
- John Konchar has 29 assists and only six turnovers for an assist/turnover ratio of 4.83.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts is led by first year head coach Paul Mills, who came to Tulsa from after serving as an assistant coach at Baylor. ORU owns Division I wins over Little Rock, Missouri State, Florida Gulf Coast and Omaha. Their 93-74 win over Omaha came Dec. 30 in the Summit League opener for both clubs. The Golden Eagles went 11-of-22 from beyond the arc in the game. Emmanuel Nzekwesi was named the Summit League Player of the Week on Tuesday after recording 21 points and 11 rebounds in the game against Omaha.

THE SERIES
Oral Roberts leads the all-time series 10-8. Fort Wayne has won the last five games, dating back to Feb. 7, 2015. Last season the 'Dons won 102-91in Fort Wayne and 87-83 in Tulsa. Fort Wayne is 3-6 all-time at Oral Roberts.

AT HOME, IN NON-LEAGUE PLAY
Fort Wayne finished the non-league portion of their schedule 8-0 at home. It is the third consecutive season the 'Dons have finished home non-league play undefeated, putting their non-league home winning streak at 22 games. The last time the Mastodons lost a non-league game at home was Dec. 30, 2014 against Cal Poly 71-57. The streak includes Fort Wayne's victory over Ball State in the CIT last season.

KONCHAR CAREER STEALS
John Konchar is in fourth place in Fort Wayne career history with 167 steals. Next up on the list is third place Bruce Roland (1986-89) who totaled 210 steals. Konchar's total is also 11th among all active NCAA Division I players.

FROM THE FLOOR IN HIS CAREER
John Konchar owns a career 58.2 percent field goal percentage. His mark is 20th among all active players in the nation.

KONCHAR ON THE BOARDS IN HIS CAREER
John Konchar is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game in his career. That total is ninth among all active NCAA Division I players. If he finished his career with that average, he would rank fifth all-time in Summit League history for the statistic.

CAREER THREE FOR KONCHAR
John Konchar's career 46.8 percent total from beyond the arc is fourth among all active Division I players.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
John Konchar has 33 career double-doubles. It is the sixth most double-doubles of all players in NCAA Division I.

STEALING THINGS THIS YEAR
John Konchar owns 41 steals on the season. It is the sixth most in the NCAA this year. His 2.41 steals per game ranks 14th in the nation. Bryson Scott is eighth in the nation with 40 total steals.

GREAT SCOTT
Bryson Scott is averaging a Summit League best 22.9 points per game, 11th best in the nation. Scott's 390 total points on the season ranks first in the nation. Scott's 123 made field goals this year ranks third in the nation.

SCOTT AT THE LINE
Bryson Scott has made 115-of-136 attempts from the free throw line this year. His made total ranks second in the nation. His attempts are second in the nation. He has five performances this season of 10 made free throws in a game.

TAKE IT AWAY NOW
Fort Wayne is fifth in the nation in total steals (149) and 28th in the country in turnovers forced (16.8).

34 TIMES TWO
Bryson Scott scored 34 points against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 28 and also against Stetson on Dec. 16. His 34 points were the most by a 'Don since Max Landis scored 44 at South Dakota on Feb. 4, 2016. Scott's 34 points also marked the most by a 'Don in a home game since Tyler Best scored 35 against Longwood in an overtime contest on Jan. 5, 2006.

30 FOR SCOTT
Bryson Scott owns five 30-point games this season. In Fort Wayne's Division I era (2001 - present) the record for career 30-point games is Frank Gaines with seven. He recorded five during the 2011-12 season alone.

BRYSON SCOTT WITH TWO POTW
Bryson Scott has been named Summit League Player of the Week twice this season. He earned the honor on Dec. 4 after averaging 26.0 points in wins over Detroit Mercy, IU Kokomo and SIUE. He first picked up the award on Nov. 13 after scoring 31 points at Oakland.

X MARKS THE SPOT
Xzavier Taylor's 58.7 field goal percentage is third in the Summit League.

1,000 FOR KONCHAR
John Konchar passed the 1,000 point total against ETSU. He ranks eighth all-time in career scoring at Fort Wayne with 1,149 points.

SCOTT'S 1,000
Combined with the 291 points he scored at Purdue, Bryson Scott owns 1,213 career points. He eclipsed the 1,000 point mark with a jumper in the paint against IU Kokomo.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Fort Wayne is fourth in the nation in total 3-pointers made (178) and 24th in 3-pointers per game (10.5). They are second in the country in 3-pointers attempted (482). The 'Dons have made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 11 times this year.

#3Nation
Dubbed #3Nation the last few seasons, Fort Wayne is actually shooting more 3-pointers this season. With 45.4 percent of field goal attempts this year being 3-pointers, that is up from 41.2 percent last year and 42.8 percent in 2015-16. The 'Dons are making 10.5 3-pointers per game this season. Last year they made 10.7 per game. They connected on 10.4 in 2015-16.

JAX TO THE MAX
Jax Levitch leads the team and ranks fourth in the league in 3-point shooting. He is making 3-pointers at a 48.0 percent clip (24-of-50).

10=3
Of the 12 active players on the roster, 10 Mastodons have made a 3-pointer this season.

LOU HENSON AWARD WATCH LIST
John Konchar was named to the Preseason Watch List for CollegeInsider.com's Lou Henson Award. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player.

AT THE LINE FOR A RECORD DAY
Fort Wayne made 32-of-37 free throws against Olivet on Dec. 28, 2017. The 32 made free throws tied for the second most free throws made in a single-game during the NCAA Division I era for the 'Dons. Bryson Scott's 14 free throws against Olivet tied a single-game Division I era program record. David Simon vs. Trine on Jan. 19, 2004 and Frank Gaines vs. Omaha on Jan. 5, 2013 also made 14 in a game.

ON THE INDIANA WIN...
- The 22-point lead the 'Dons had over Indiana at one point is the largest lead they have earned against a Division I opponent this year.
- Fort Wayne made 17 3-pointers. It tied for the fourth most 3-pointers in a game in program history during the Division era (2001 – present). 'Dons also made 17 this year against Delaware State and at Omaha (Jan. 16, 2016) and vs. Manchester (Nov. 21, 2007). It also tied a record for most 3-pointers by an opponent at Assembly Hall.
- Dylan Carl made 4-of-5 3-point attempts in the contest, for a career-high 14 points.

20 WINS AGAIN
Fort Wayne won 20 games last season. It was their third 20-win season in four years. It also marked their second consecutive 20-win season, which is a first for the program as an NCAA Division I squad. Only once previously in program history, 1988-89 & 1989-90, have the 'Dons won 20 games in consecutive seasons.

PRO 'DONS
A pair of Mastodons from last season's squad are playing professionally. Mo Evans is playing in Hungary and Brent Calhoun is in Spain.

ONLY TWO
Fort Wayne and Valparaiso are the only two NCAA Division I men's basketball programs in the state of Indiana that have advanced to the postseason each of the last four years.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Mastodons have attained an overall home record of 122-40 in Fort Wayne since 2006-07. The 'Dons are 72-23 in home games played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and 50-17 in home games played on campus at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

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Players Mentioned

Dylan Carl

John Konchar

Jax Levitch

Bryson Scott

Xzavier Taylor

Matt Weir