Box Score I Photo Gallery

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - With two young basketball teams scrapping and clawing for dear life, IUPUI fell three points short at Indiana on Tuesday night, 60-57. Trailing 58-57 with the ball, freshman Alex Young misfired on a long three from the top of the key on IUPUI's final possession. 

Sophomore guard John Ashworth scored a career-high 15 points, tying Young for the team-high. Junior Robert Glenn added 12 for the Jaguars. 

IU (2-0) freshman Tom Pritchard led four Hoosiers in double-digits with 19 points and 10 rebounds. 

"I've been coaching 21 years and I've never been so proud of a basketball team in my life," IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. "We didn't lose tonight - it was a win-win for both teams. 

"We learned more about our basketball team in a loss than we would in a win. Our guys are hurting now, but I think they'll look back and be proud of what we accomplished."

IUPUI (1-2) landed the initial punch of the game, surging out to an 18-12 lead with 7:30 left in the half. Ashworth and Glenn fueled the IUPUI attack early, combining to score the Jaguars' first 11 points until Young swished a three from the wing. 

Avery scored the final two baskets on a tip-in and a two-handed dunk off a feed from Leroy Nobles.

However, IU dominated the final seven minutes of the half, outscoring IUPUI 19-2 the rest of the way en route to a 31-20 halftime advantage. Pritchard powered the run with seven straight points and Roth hit two wide open treys, including a capper with 50 seconds left. 

IUPUI used an 8-0 burst early in the second half, forcing IU Head Coach Tom Crean to burn a 30-second timeout before the first media timeout. Four different Jaguars scored during the run before Pritchard stopped the bleeding at the foul line. IUPUI responded with a Billy Pettiford 14-footer and an Ashworth three from the corner to tie the score at 38 all. 

Unfortunately, IUPUI was never able to get over the hump in the second half, yet the Hoosiers never extended the lead beyond four over the final 15 minutes. 

Pritchard put IU up 56-52 with 4:56 left, but Nobles answered with a triple from the left wing, silencing a crowd of 13,174. Ashworth cut it to one with under three minutes left when he spun a layup off the glass, but IUPUI went empty on its next three possessions, including Young's final miss. 

"Alex Young is going to be a fine basketball player for us," Hunter said. "If he doesn't hit those shots in the second half, we're not even in this basketball game. I know he's upset, but I'd have him take that shot 10 times out of 10.

"And he's going to make it the next time."

Young hit 6-of-16 from the floor as IUPUI shot 41 percent as a team. Ashworth, making his third career start, added four rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes work. Pettiford grabbed 10 rebounds and also delivered three assists. 

Pritchard hit 7-of-8 shots as IU hit nearly 43 percent from the field. However, the Hoosiers connected on just 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from beyond the arc. 

Roth hit four threes to account for his 12 points and Nick Williams and Devan Dumes scored 10 each. Williams also collected nine rebounds as IU outrebounded the Jaguars 35-31.

"More than anything, I was impressed by my team's mental toughness," Hunter said. "My guys were scrapping for loose balls, diving on the floor and just making plays. You don't just come on the road in the Big Ten and win games.

"I told my guys, I just wanted us to be in a position to win the game, and we were."

The Jaguars return to action on Saturday when they host IU-East in the 2008 home opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from The Jungle while fans that bring at least one canned good will receive $3 off admission.