Nov. 11, 2007

Box Score

Madison, WI - The IPFW Mastodons men's basketball team opened the 2007-08 season on Sunday night in Madison, Wisconsin, taking on the Wisconsin Badgers. IPFW gave UW all they could handle in the first half, but Wisconsin's size was too much to overcome in the second half, falling to the Badgers, 83-55.

IPFW showed the sell-out crowd of 17,901 at the Kohl Center that they were ready to battle their Big Ten opponents from the outset.

The Mastodons took an early 12-6 lead just five minutes in as senior forward Jaraun Burrows found a slashing senior forward DeWitt Scott for a lay-in.

IPFW increased the lead to nine points on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Ben Botts at the 8:35 mark.  In fact Botts drilled his first three 3-points attempts and the 'Dons had Wisconsin in a world of trouble.

On a Burrows' bucket in the paint, IPFW took its largest lead of the half at 27-16 with 8:01 remaining.

But, the Badgers used an 11-3 advantage in first half fouls and a number of trips to the charity stripe to whittle the IPFW lead to just two with 3:27 left in the period.

In fact, Wisconsin went on a 20-5 run to retake the lead by six at the break, 38-32.

Early in the second half, Burrows used his speed to beat the Badgers up the floor on two successive possessions to draw the 'Dons to within three at 42-39, but that is when Wisconsin's size became a factor.

Senior forward Brian Butch began throwing his 6-11 frame around and started to get his opportunities, and he made the best of them.

Butch tipped in a shot at the 15:08 mark that pushed the Badger lead to nine (48-39).

His jumper from about 15-feet pushed that edge to 57-40, and a triple from sophomore guard Trevon Hughes gave the Badgers a 21-point edge and ended the 'Dons hopes of an upset.

Hughes had a huge night for Wisconsin, scoring a game-high 25 points, grabbing six steals, five rebounds, and dishing out five assists.

Butch registered a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

The Mastodons were led by Botts with 14 points on 5-6 shooting.  The freshman was 4-5 from behind the arc.

Burrows was the only other Mastodon in double figures with 12 points.

After starting the game shooting around the 42% mark, IPFW finished the night at 34.5% (19-55).

Wisconsin picked up their shooting in the second half to finish at 49.2% (32-65).

IPFW will return home to host Valpariaso on Thursday night in the 2007-08 home opener.  Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are available by calling the Memorial Coliseum Box Office or logging on to www.ticketmaster.com.

~Dons~