Purdue Fort Wayne
3-0,0-0Horizon
Texas A&M Commerce
0-4,0-0Southland
Rasheed Bello's 29 Leads Mastodons to Victory Over Texas A&M-Commerce
11/12/2023 3:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Behind 29 points from Rasheed Bello, the Purdue Fort Wayne men's basketball team defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 86-64 on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 12) at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Bello's 29 points were the most of his career as a Division I student-athlete. He was 10-for-18 from the floor, 3-for-3 from 3-point range and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. He added four rebounds and four assists.
Anthony Roberts pitched in 17 points and 10 boards for his first double-double as a Mastodon. He grabbed his 10th board with 41 seconds left in the contest.
Bello had 19 of his points in the first half. He sparked a 10-3 run over the final segment of the first half to take a 16-point lead into the locker room. He scored eight of the 10 Mastodon points.
The 'Dons led 6-5 early before going on a 19-2 run over the following 4:12, in which they did not allow a field goal. The run was capped off by a 3-pointer from Destin Whitaker.
Texas A&M-Commerce scored the first five points of the second half, but the Mastodons quickly rattled off a 9-0 run in less than two minutes. Bello scored five, Corey Hadnot II and Quinton Morton-Robertson scored two each.
The Lions hung around until midway through the second half when the 'Dons out-scored the visitors 14-2 in a three-minute stretch. This put the game well out of reach for Texas A&M Commerce.
The Mastodons had just six turnovers while forcing 17. The Mastodons entered Sunday's game as the national leader in turnover margin and turnovers forced per game. The 'Dons had just one turnover from the six players off the bench.
Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 3-0 to open the season for the first time since 1999. Texas A&M-Commerce falls to 0-4. The Mastodons are back in action on Friday (Nov. 17) against Northern Arizona in the first round of the Arizona Tip-Off.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
