CHICAGO – Chicago State men's basketball utilized a 17-2 scoring run in the final four minutes to capture a 63-57 win over visiting IPFW tonight in a non-conference contest at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center.
After CSU (3-20) opened the game with an early 4-3 lead on a steal and layup from senior Ardarius Simmons (Chicago, IL/Southeastern (IA) CC) (Chicago, Ill.) at the 18:20 mark of the first half, IPFW (10-14) scored 19 of the next 29 points over a nine-plus minute span to capture a 22-14 lead that culminated with a three-pointer by junior Frank Gaines at the 7:37 mark.
The Green and White responded with a 15-4 scoring drive in the final seven minutes with seven points coming from Fisher and headed into intermission with a 29-26 advantage
Both teams began the second half going back and forth for the first 10 minutes until 7:53 when the Mastodons posted a 12-3 run over 3:39 behind eight points from junior Trey McCorkle to regain the lead at 55-46 with 4:19 left in the game setting up the Cougars' final run.
Graduate student Lee Fisher (Dolton, IL/Northern Illinois) (Dolton, Ill.) tallied his team-leading fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to lead three CSU players in double figures. Freshman Jacobby Anderson (Springfield, IL/Southeast) (Springfield, Ill.) added 11 points and a season-best five rebounds, while Simmons finished with 10 points and four assists.
IPFW was led by McCorkle's game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and added six rebounds, while Gaines finished with 16 points and four assists.
CSU returns to Great West Conference action at the Jones Convocation Center Thursday night against North Dakota with the opening tip set for 7:05 p.m.
~CSU~
