IPFW dismantles Cougars on the road

Although SIUE shot well from the field, IPFW trounced the Cougars for the second straight season in Fort Wayne as defensive troubles mounted in the second half.

SIUE allowed 107 points, a season high, to the Mastodons. Although the Cougars were 24-45 from the field (53 percent) and 6-13 from the 3-point range (46 percent), their defense was unable to keep pace with IPFW in a 107-79 loss.

"The bottom line is defense, and we weren't good defensively." Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "We weren't very good in the first half, and in the second half we were worse."

The Cougars appeared to be in the game at halftime, trailing 44-38. SIUE cut the IPFW lead of 13 in the first half to just three on a pair of free throws by junior Kevin Stineman. With 58 seconds left, Jeremy Mixon hit a three-pointer for the Mastodons to make it a six-point deficit for the Cougars coming out of the break. SIUE had outscored IPFW 14-9 following the under four minute media timeout.

When it seemed the Cougars had figured it out, things just got worse.

Three minutes into the second half, IPFW began their charge and steamrolled their way through a 19-2 run to open the game up at 71-46. IPFW did not stop and crossed the century mark with their largest lead of the game at 30 points with 2:11 remaining, making the score an even 100-70.

Rebounding was the biggest area troubling the Cougars, now 5-14 on the year. IPFW bullied SIUE on the boards, out-rebounding them 35-18. The Cougars had previously been averaging 30 rebounds per game, and their 18 Tuesday was their lowest total in past two seasons.

It wasn't just IPFW rebounding the basketball which ensured their victory. The Mastodons knew what to do with the ball when they got second chances. IPFW blanked the Cougars 23-0 on second chance points, and because the Cougars were not getting to the boards, they took 68 shots to the Cougars 45, while shooting an impressive 57 percent on their way to victory.

"We had 18 rebounds," Forrester said. "We have a week before our next game. That has to be a point of emphasis."

Five Mastodons scored in double-figures, including three players off the bench who out-scored the Cougar reserves 54-27.

Frank Gaines led all scorers with 22 points. Ben Botts and Oleg Kovalov had 16, Mixon had 13 and Michael Kibiloski had 10 for the Mastodons.

SIUE was led once again by Corey Wickware, who scored in double figures for the 11th time in 16 games with 15 points. Cornelius Chatt finished with 12 points, Cody Rincker had 11 and Kevin Stineman had 10.

With the loss, IPFW has won five straight against the Cougars and taken a 9-8 lead in the all-time series between the two schools, which were formerly members of the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference. IPFW left in 2001, and is now fully certified members of the Summit League.

The Cougars have a week to regroup before taking on Eastern Kentucky Tuesday at the Vadalabene Center. The Colonels, members of the Ohio Valley Conference, previously bested SIUE 81-65 Nov. 17 in Richmond. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.



NOTES: We have received news that freshman Gerald Jones is no longer a member of the Cougars, too many off-the-court issues, and he has been kicked off. 


The Cougars cannot win on the road. 


I still thoroughly expect this team to put together an 11 win season. The remaining schedule is very friendly to SIUE. The only games we will probably lose are: Northwestern, Murray State at home and South Dakota on the road (not holding my breath, but the guys can surprise me.) 3 non-DI's = 3 wins, especially being at this juncture in the season and at home. That's eight, then UT Martin and SEMO at home should be locks, and then the Cougars need to win one of  EKU, Tennessee Tech.

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