Nov. 21, 2007

Box Score

Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons got their first win of the season, in impressive fashion, shooting their way past Manchester College, 106-57 on Wednesday night at the Memorial Coliseum.

The 'Dons hit a school-record tying 17, 3-pointers in cruising to the 49-point win.

Freshman guard Ben Botts led the way for the Mastodons with 21 points, including a 5-7 night from behind the arc.

IPFW raced out to a 50-19 first-half lead and never looked back, holding the Spartans (1-3) to just 32.7% shooting, while forcing 21 turnovers.

The Mastodons featured six players in double-figures.  Joining Botts in the double-digit column were junior guard Jakari Johnson with 13 points, seniors DeWitt Scott, Jaraun Burrows, and Chris Perkins each added 12 markers, while freshman guard Zach Plackemeier tossed in 11 points.

Burrows paced the 'Dons 42-rebound evening with a team-high nine boards.

IPFW (1-2) shot 58.6% from the floor and 56.7% from behind the arc.

Manchester was led by junior forward Jeff Grabowski with 12 points.  Grabowski didn't miss a shot the entire evening (3-3 with two triples and 4-4 from the foul line).

IPFW head coach Dane Fife was pleased with his team's performance.

"We obviously shot the ball a lot better tonight," he said. 

"I thought we did a nice job of driving under control and getting kicks (outside to open shooters).   I was very pleased from an offensive standpoint.  Defensively... it's a never ending improvement.  If we are going to compete with Indiana State, we've got to play much better defensively."

IPFW will take on the Sycamores of Indiana State Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Following that contest, the Mastodons will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska on Monday for an 8:00 p.m. tip with the Cornhuskers.

~Dons~

Note:  IPFW's 17, 3-pointers equals a mark set by the 1991-92 squad that hit 17 triples against the University of Indianapolis.