Indiana vs. Fort Wayne: Score and Twitter Reaction from Mastodons' Upset Win

The college basketball season is just getting started, but Tuesday might have produced the biggest upset of the season.

No. 3 Indiana went on the road to play Fort Wayne and suffered a 71-68 overtime loss at the hands of the Mastodons.

Troy Machir of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic noted a surprising statistic for Indiana:

Alex McCarthy of Inside Indiana pointed out the importance of the game in the sold-out Allen County War Memorial Coliseum:

ESPN's Scott Van Pelt also praised the atmosphere:

As Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com noted, that only intensified after the game:

Bryson Scott was everywhere for the Mastodons, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals. John Konchar added 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while Mo Evans contributed nine points, five steals and four assists.

Indiana got strong performances from Thomas Bryant (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Robert Johnson (16 points, six rebounds), but it shot 7 of 24 from three-point range and 11 of 19 from the free-throw line and had 15 turnovers.

ESPN Stats & Info provided an interesting note on the game:

IPFW jumped out to a shocking 13-3 lead, which turned out to not be a fluke. The Hoosiers came back, but the Mastodons held a sizable lead for much of the first half.

NCAA March Madness on Twitter mocked Indiana's struggles:

After Bryant gave the Hoosiers a 43-42 lead with a three-point play early in the second half, Fort Wayne scored 19 of the next 25 points, with Indiana often beating itself with turnovers and poor possessions.

Jeremy Price of the Herald-Times questioned the play of the highly ranked squad:

The Hoosiers switched to a 2-3 zone defense, and the Mastodons couldn't score, as noted by Jeff Rabjohns of Scout.com:

Bryant hit two free throws with 19 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 65, and Fort Wayne's Kason Harrell missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds.

Both sides struggled offensively at the start of overtime, but IPFW earned a small advantage, which earned the attention of ESPN's Dick Vitale:

After DeAngelo Stewart made two free throws, Konchar intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass to secure the incredible three-point win.

Indiana will try to bounce back in a home matchup against Mississippi Valley State on Sunday. It will follow that up with an anticipated matchup against No. 4 North Carolina on Nov. 30, though it will no longer be a battle of Top Five teams.

This game could go a long way for the Mastodons, who were co-champions in the Summit League last season and picked to win the conference this season.

Postgame Reaction

IPFW head coach Jon Coffman thanked Indiana head coach Tom Crean for allowing the game to happen, per sportswriter Andy Wittry:

"

I appreciate coach Crean coming. What he did today was unbelievable. It doesn't happen in college basketball, taking a challenge, and for him to bring his team to Fort Wayne and help our city—our city, not about our win—but they'll be talking about Indiana coming to Fort Wayne for the next 50 years, and he was the reason they did it.

"

Crean blamed a lack of offensive execution for the loss.

"We needed to make the next pass," he said, per Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star. "I'm ashamed of that, to be honest with you, because that's not how we play."

It's a game that won't be soon forgotten.

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