2008 Woodie Awards
Patterson leads Jaguars to record-breaking win
Ryan Palencer
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Sports
The IUPUI men's basketball team set a Division I era record by knocking down 19 3-pointers in an 88-66 rout of Southern Utah on Jan. 31 in The Jungle.
Guard Gary Patterson, who finished with a game-high 37 points, led the way for the Jaguars (16-5, 8-2 Summit) by hitting 11 of the 3-pointers.
"I felt good," Patterson said. "When I was warming up, I felt like I wasn't missing too many shots. I kind of figured that I would have a pretty good game, but I didn't think like this."
IUPUI coach Ron Hunter was pleased with Patterson's effort and thinks that it builds confidence for the rest of the season.
"He was unconscious, he was terrific" Hunter said. "If he plays like that and you get that from George (Hill) and the rest of the guys, it's going to be terrific."
The Jaguars' hot shooting propelled them to a 40-10 lead just over 14 minutes into the game. During the stretch, IUPUI knocked down nine 3-pointers, while Patterson scored 19 points.
"I wanted to come out and be aggressive and kind of get us going and get myself going," Patterson said. "When I got so many open looks, they were just falling."
Behind their defense, the Jaguars never looked back on their way to the lopsided 22-point victory. IUPUI forced 12 Southern Utah (5-16, 3-7 Summit) turnovers and held them to only 39.3 percent shooting. They also held Thunderbird forward Geoff Payne to only 12 points, eight under his season average.
"Our defense is the key to what we do," Hunter said. "We do have great offensive players, but it's our defense that wins games for us and that's caused this big buzz for us."
The Southern Utah defensive game plan was to shut down IUPUI's leading scorer George Hill, who was only able to attempt five shots. Despite the lack of shots, Hill still found a way to get involved offensively by dishing out seven assists. Hill thinks that the Jaguars' effort proves that they have more than just one offensive threat.
"I have a lot of confidence in my teammates," Hill said. "They always say that we're a one-man team and today proves that we're not a one-man team. I don't have to score for us to win. It shows tonight, (Patterson) knocking down 11 3-pointers. That shows that you can take me away, but we still have great players on this team to get the job done."
Hill still scored 13 points and moved past Jesse Bingham in career free throw attempts (483).
After beating the Thunderbirds, IUPUI has won 12 straight games at home this season and 14 straight in The Jungle. Hunter attributes the success at home to the students who attend the games.
"What's great is we have a home court advantage," Hunter said. "We have one of the best in the league, our students have been great. Our students come and they're loud. It's a very tough place to play for opposing teams. I don't know if anyone is going to be able to beat us here for a long time because our students are such a big part of what we do here."
Guard Gary Patterson, who finished with a game-high 37 points, led the way for the Jaguars (16-5, 8-2 Summit) by hitting 11 of the 3-pointers.
"I felt good," Patterson said. "When I was warming up, I felt like I wasn't missing too many shots. I kind of figured that I would have a pretty good game, but I didn't think like this."
IUPUI coach Ron Hunter was pleased with Patterson's effort and thinks that it builds confidence for the rest of the season.
"He was unconscious, he was terrific" Hunter said. "If he plays like that and you get that from George (Hill) and the rest of the guys, it's going to be terrific."
The Jaguars' hot shooting propelled them to a 40-10 lead just over 14 minutes into the game. During the stretch, IUPUI knocked down nine 3-pointers, while Patterson scored 19 points.
"I wanted to come out and be aggressive and kind of get us going and get myself going," Patterson said. "When I got so many open looks, they were just falling."
Behind their defense, the Jaguars never looked back on their way to the lopsided 22-point victory. IUPUI forced 12 Southern Utah (5-16, 3-7 Summit) turnovers and held them to only 39.3 percent shooting. They also held Thunderbird forward Geoff Payne to only 12 points, eight under his season average.
"Our defense is the key to what we do," Hunter said. "We do have great offensive players, but it's our defense that wins games for us and that's caused this big buzz for us."
The Southern Utah defensive game plan was to shut down IUPUI's leading scorer George Hill, who was only able to attempt five shots. Despite the lack of shots, Hill still found a way to get involved offensively by dishing out seven assists. Hill thinks that the Jaguars' effort proves that they have more than just one offensive threat.
"I have a lot of confidence in my teammates," Hill said. "They always say that we're a one-man team and today proves that we're not a one-man team. I don't have to score for us to win. It shows tonight, (Patterson) knocking down 11 3-pointers. That shows that you can take me away, but we still have great players on this team to get the job done."
Hill still scored 13 points and moved past Jesse Bingham in career free throw attempts (483).
After beating the Thunderbirds, IUPUI has won 12 straight games at home this season and 14 straight in The Jungle. Hunter attributes the success at home to the students who attend the games.
"What's great is we have a home court advantage," Hunter said. "We have one of the best in the league, our students have been great. Our students come and they're loud. It's a very tough place to play for opposing teams. I don't know if anyone is going to be able to beat us here for a long time because our students are such a big part of what we do here."
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