IPFW men, women swept at Southern Utah

CEDAR CITY, Utah. - Men's Game:

Two chances at the rim with under three seconds on the clock would not fall, as the Southern Utah Thunderbirds held on for a 58-56 thriller on Saturday evening.

The loss drops IPFW to 9-10 overall and 3-7 in the Summit League, while Southern Utah evens its record at 10-10 overall, and 5-5 in league play.

Frank Gaines scored a game-high 19 points, while Justin Jordan finished a point shy of his career-high with 13. Trey McCorkle scored seven points, while John Peckinpaugh and Antwaun Boyd scored six apiece.

Gaines pulled down a game-high-tying nine rebounds, as Peckinpaugh and Mario Hines each grabbed five. Jonny Marlin dished out three assists, as Boyd gave out two. Four players (Boyd, Jordan, Hines, and Michael Kibiloski) each had one block, as five others (Peckinpaugh, Marlin, Gaines, Boyd, and Jordan) had one steal.

IPFW jumped out quickly, either leading or having a tie score for the first nine minutes of the game, until Jaren Jeffery made a pair of free throws to give the hosts a 13-12 lead with 11:04 to play in the first half.

The Thunderbirds would hold onto the lead for the rest of the half, as the Mastodons trail heading into the locker room 27-24 after a Jordan jumper cut the deficit to three.

SUU held the lead until Hines made a lay-in with 15:38 to play, giving IPFW the one-point advantage at 31-30. A 10-2 run pushed the Thunderbirds ahead by seven, and the hosts didn't trail the rest of the way.

The Mastodons fought back, and after trailing by seven at 54-47 with 3:38 to play, IPFW fought back, using a 9-3 run late to climb to within one after a Boyd lay-in with 47 seconds left. SUU's Ramell Taylor made one of two charity stripe attempts, and game-tying attempts at the rim by Gaines and Boyd would not fall through, giving the hosts the two-point victory.

Jackson Stevenett scored 18 points for the hosts, while pulling down nine rebounds, while Matt Massey and Ray Jones Jr. each scored 10.

The Mastodons return to action on Thursday, January 26, when the squad hosts the Bison of North Dakota State in a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Gates Sports Center.

Women's Game:

The IPFW women couldn't overcome a slow first half falling behind 33-21 after the first 20 minutes en route to an 80-68 loss to Southern Utah.  IPFW drops to 7-12 overall, 4-4 in the Summit League.  Haley Seibert had a career-high 21 points for the Mastodons in the loss.

IPFW travels to Oral Roberts Monday night.