GAME NOTES: The Purdue Boilermakers try to bounce back from a shocking loss on Saturday, as they entertain the Mastodons of IPFW on Monday night.

Riding a three-game win streak that included triumphs over Missouri, BYU and NC State, the Boilermakers went into their meeting with North Florida over the weekend brimming with confidence. Unfortunately, the Ospreys were not simply going to roll over at Mackey Arena and instead stepped up to capture a 73-70 win over the hosts.

The loss was the first at home for Purdue, and just the second overall on the season.

As for the Mastodons, a team which has posted five wins in seven opportunities, they are enjoying a brief two-game win streak at the moment, thanks to an 86-78 triumph over Miami-Ohio two nights ago at home. The victory was the third in the last four outings for IPFW, the one setback during the run being a one-point decision against Dartmouth on the road.

The Boilermakers have won all five previous meetings between these two programs, the latest being an 81-56 thrashing at home back on Dec. 20, 2011.

Using just three reserves, the Mastodons still had more than enough energy to take down Miami on Saturday as the hosts shot 55.3 percent from the field and put four players in double figures. Leading the charge was Steve Forbes with his 25 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Mo Evans with 15 points, six assists and five boards, while Joe Edwards and Max Landis produced 13 points apiece for a squad that limited the RedHawks to a mere two offensive rebounds in the meeting.

On a team posting 78.0 ppg, the leading scorer for IPFW is Forbes with his 16.4 ppg as he shoots 58.5 percent from the floor and has abstained from even attempting a single shot from 3-point range through seven games. Forbes is also second on the glass with 6.6 rpg, trailing only Isaiah McCray (11.1 ppg) who is clearing 7.4 rpg, although all of that still doesn't make up for the fact that Forbes has issued a total of only four assists to this point in the campaign.

Purdue fell behind right out of the gate against the Ospreys, 6-0, but recovered and eventually held a 36-28 advantage at the break. It wasn't until the final minutes of the second half that North Florida responded and built a six-point advantage yet again, holding on for the three-point win.

Before fouling out, A.J. Hammons tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots for the hosts, while Isaac Haas accounted for 14 points and six boards in a mere 15 minutes off the bench. Kendall Stephens pitched in with 10 points and Jon Octeus, who had a late basket to draw Purdue to within three, came up a point shy of a double-double as he cleared 10 rebounds.

Despite coming off the bench in all eight games, Haas is the leading scorer for the Boilermakers with his 12.3 ppg, shooting a fantastic 71.4 percent from the floor and a not-so-hot 57.1 percent at the free-throw line. Vince Edwards is responsible for another 12.1 ppg and is tops with 7.0 rpg, followed by Stephens with another 11.6 ppg, although he has somehow found a way to convert 44.9 percent beyond the arc and just 36.6 percent from the floor.

After being stunned by North Florida, you can be sure that the Boilermakers have gone back to the drawing board and are prepared to show that the most recent setback was nothing more than a blip on the radar.