Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI ran its home winning streak to 19 straight on Tuesday night with an easy 84-59 victory over visiting IU South Bend. Freshman Alex Young paced four Jaguars in double-digits with 16 points and junior Robert Glenn recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The win was IUPUI's fourth straight after starting the season 1-2.
The longer, more athletic Jaguars outrebounded IUSB 43-26 and 17-9 off the offensive glass. IUPUI (5-2) parlayed that edge into a 22-5 advantage in second chance points. Seven of Glenn's 11 rebounds came off IUPUI misses.
"I didn't think we played with the best intensity the whole night and I didn't think we always played the smartest basketball, but we'll take the win," IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. "I've said it before, but there's no such thing as a bad win.
"I liked that we got out on them early and really put the game away in the first half."
IUPUI jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on three straight easy buckets, forcing IUSB (3-7) into a quick 30-second timeout. Leading 14-10 with 13:40 left in the half, the Jaguars orchestrated an 11-0 run and kept the lead in double-digits the rest of the night. Young scored three layups during the burst and senior Gary Patterson tossed in the first of his three threes of the night.
Hunter emptied his bench before halftime and the Jags took a 45-20 lead into the locker room. The lead grew as high as 29 early in the second half, but IUSB's Quintin Brooks came out on fire and the two teams played evenly after halftime.
Brooks scored 19 of his game-high 24 after the break and hit 6-of-7 from three-point range in defeat. Ben Werner and Mark Comparato added 11 each.
As a team, IUSB connected on better than 47 percent from beyond the arc, but just 40 percent overall. The Jaguars shot nearly 54 percent from the field and outscored the Titans 56-16 in the paint.
"We really wanted to use our size and athleticism to our advantage," Hunter said. "We knew they had no answer for Rob and Jon Avery on the inside. And I thought our bigs did a pretty good job of playing off each other. Hopefully they carry this momentum going forward."
Avery chipped in 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench and at one point, scored 11 in succession in the second half. Patterson also finished in double-figures with 11 in his home debut. Patterson, Young and Billy Pettiford each delivered four assists as the Jaguars handed out 20 on 35 buckets.
IUPUI improved to 10-1 all-time against IUSB.
The Jaguars will now open Summit League play on Saturday when they host Western Illinois in a hoops doubleheader. The women will begin the day against the Westerwinds at 4:30, followed by a men's tipoff at 7:00 p.m.. The men's game can be heard on XL 950 as Greg Rakestraw calls the action. It can also be seen as part of the IUPUI LIVE! package on IUPUIJags.com.
