FORT WAYNE – Maybe there’s something to this home-court thing.
Chased off their normal Memorial Coliseum home floor because of the circus, IPFW returned to its old stomping grounds of the Gates Center on Thursday and did precisely that, stomping on the Bison from North Dakota State, 75-66, ending a four-game losing streak in the process.
“We needed to win this game for a lot of reasons – the conference tournament race; our team’s psyche; I think our team’s confidence and what we were doing,” IPFW coach Tony Jasick said. “It’s hard as a coach when your guys pretty much do what you want them to do and you lose. I thought getting a win would help continue with the confidence and what we’re doing.”
Although the attendance was listed at 1,149 within the refurbished building, the decibel level jumped as high as 6-foot-4 junior Frank Gaines when he drove home a dunk off a steal with 3:23 remaining that pushed the Mastodons (10-10, 4-7 Summit League) into a 64-55 lead.
And the IPFW students across the floor from the home team’s bench began to chant along the lines of, “I think we’re going to win.”
Jasick had his own thoughts.
“I thought the crowd impacted the game,” he said. “I absolutely thought the crowd impacted the game.
“I will say this: As an athletic department and as a university, we’re in the process of looking at all options, making some decisions. There is so much that goes into a decision like the ones we’re all hinting about in moving back here. There are so many aspects to that decision that have to be thoroughly – and I mean thoroughly – researched before you just make a knee-jerk reaction.”
But it wasn’t just the friendly confines that pushed IPFW over the top.
Trailing 55-54, Gaines missed a three-point shot from up top, but sophomore forward Michael Kibiloski got the offensive rebound, scored, was fouled and woofed at his own fired-up bench, all within a few emotional seconds.
That one moment began a 10-0 IPFW run that closed out on Gaines’ dunk with less than 3 1/2 minutes to play.
Gaines had 23 points, 11 from the free throw line, while Justin Jordan had 12 and Kibiloski had 11.
“It was definitely a huge difference than playing in the Coliseum,” Gaines said.
“I like it,” Kibiloski said. “It’s like everybody’s closer on the sides. It’s pretty loud. It was fun.”
