GAME NOTES: Both the IUPU-Fort Wayne Mastodons and the SIU Edwardsville Cougars will face their first Division I foe of the season on Monday when the two teams mix it up at the Vadalabene Center.

IPFW faced a challenge from Division III Manchester on Friday night. The Mastodons easily defeated the opposition in the opener, rolling to a 74-50 victory. The game was the first under new head coach Jon Coffman, who is tasked with building on the team's 24-win campaign from a season ago.

SIUE took on Harris-Stowe, an NAIA opponent, in its opener on Friday. The Cougars were even more dominant than the Mastodons, running away with a 104-56 decision. Lennox Forrester's squad is in search of its first winning season since joining the Division I ranks in 2008. The Cougars posted 11 wins last season, which is the high-water mark for the program as a D-I program.

There wasn't much intrigue when these teams squared off last season. The Mastodons pulled out a 95-75 victory in that contest, marking their sixth straight win over the Cougars. IPFW leads the all-time series, 10-8.

The Mastodons didn't appear to miss a step offensively in the season opener. After ranking sixth in the country in field goal percentage (.493) last season, they maintained an effective touch against Manchester, connecting on 48.2 percent from the floor. They also had a 34-16 scoring edge in the paint, while holding Manchester to just 36.2 percent shooting overall.

Mo Evans kept the Mastodons humming at the offensive end, while making a sizable impact on defense as well. Evans scored a game-high 15 points and also handed out eight assists. In addition, he collected three of the team's 11 steals. Joe Edwards and Steve Forbes were the most productive scorers after Evans. Edwards finished with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and Forbes netted 12. Isaiah McCray only scored eight points, but he grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

There was not a single statistic that SIUE did not have a dominant advantage in against Harris-Stowe. The Cougars shot 48.6 percent from the field, while holding the opposition to just 30.2 percent. They also had major edges in rebounds (54-40), 3-pointers (12-3), points off turnovers (27-8), second- chance points (22-13 and points in the paint (38-20).

Four different players scored in double figures in the win. Donivine Stewart nearly had a triple-double to lead the way, scoring 20 points to go with 10 assists and eight rebounds, all team-highs. Michael Messer made 7-of-8 field goal attempts and finished with 17 points. Kris Davis also netted 17 points to go with seven rebounds. Maurice Wiltz only hit 2-of-7 shots, but a 5-of-6 showing at the free-throw line helped him pick up 10 points. C.J. Carr was the leading scorer off the bench, putting in nine points in 16 minutes of action.

It is difficult to determine how improved either of these teams is, if at all, following what amounted to tune-ups in their respective season openers. Expect a much closer contest than last season and perhaps a SIUE win, considering it has the home court advantage.