Konchar, Holba lead PFW past South Carolina St

Published

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — John Konchar and Matt Holba scored 18 points apiece and Purdue Fort Wayne held off South Carolina State 72-68 on Tuesday night.

Konchar hit 6 of 9 shots from the floor but just 5 of his 10 free throws and grabbed nine rebounds for the Mastodons (3-3). Holba sank 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range and added five rebounds. Konchar also picked up two steals, giving him 214 for his career and moving him past DeAngelo Woodall into second place all-time for PFW. Since 1992-93, Konchar is one of three collegians to amass 1,500 points, 900 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals in a career. The others were BYU's Kyle Collinsworth (2010-16) and Louisville's Terrence Williams (2005-09).

Purdue Fort Wayne led 34-31 at halftime, but the Bulldogs (1-5) battled back in the second half to take a 44-42 lead on Damni Applewhite's 3-pointer with 14:14 left. Jahmari Etienne's 3 pushed the lead to 49-42 before the Mastodons used a 14-4 run capped by Marcus DeBerry's 3-pointer to recapture the lead 56-53 with 7:46 remaining. The Bulldogs took their last lead, 62-61, on two straight baskets by Applewhite with 2:42 to go. But Konchar hit two free throws and PFW never trailed again.

Applewhite paced SCSU with 28 points and nine rebounds.