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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Jaguars turned in the best defensive effort in the program's near 40-year history on Tuesday afternoon, stifling Indiana State's attack in a decisive 62-41 win in front of 3,327 fans at Conseco Fieldhouse. The 41 points were the fewest ever by an IUPUI opponent and the Sycamores fewest since 2005. 

IUPUI had previously allowed 43 points on two different occasions, the last coming in 2000.

Junior Jon Avery recorded his third career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds and rookie Alex Young tossed in 15 on 5-of-10 shooting. Indiana State (2-9) built an early 10-5 lead, but the Jaguars countered with a full-court press, and later, a 9-0 run to take the lead for good. 

"I thought our press really got us going," IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. "We came out flat, but our defense was the difference. We used our defense to get us easy baskets and that made all the difference."

Avery scored six points during the rally, including a short jumper after Billy Pettiford had recorded a steal, forcing ISU to call a timeout with 7:03 left before halftime. 

"Jon Avery was spectacular today," Hunter said. "He's so good at getting loose and finishing around the basket. Just how active he was made a huge difference. Indiana State didn't have an answer for him."

IUPUI (7-4) pushed the lead to 33-26 at intermission and opened the second stanza with an 8-2 burst to lead by double-digits the rest of the way. Young made consecutive treys to give IUPUI a 41-28 lead with 16:56 left. ISU closed within 10 on an Isiah Martin turnaround, but Young's fourth three of the day and a Robert Glenn alley-oop slam ended any doubt midway through the half. 

Indiana State hit just 33 percent from the floor and an abysmal 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) inside the arc. Redshirt freshman Jordan Printy led ISU with a career-high 15 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting from long range. The Sycamores made 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc. 

Rashad Reed added 10 for the guests. ISU's top scorer this season, senior Jay Tunnell, was held to just two points on 1-of-4 shooting and Aaron Carter, who came in averaging better than 10 per night, went scoreless. 

"I thought after the first couple minutes, we did a good job of identifying their shooters," Hunter said. "We were able to extend our zone and get out on their shooters. Our athleticism played a huge part in this win."

IUPUI's efficient offense shot 42 percent from the floor and 47 percent from three-point range. The 6-foot-7 Avery maneuvered his way through the bigger Sycamores to hit 7-of-11 shots and grabbed six of his 13 boards off the offensive glass. Young hit 4-of-6 from deep to match his 15.0 point per game scoring average. The lanky 6-foot-5 freshman also had two of IUPUI's four steals on the day.

Senior Gary Patterson, who missed the previous game at Conseco, had 10 points and a team-high four assists. He also grabbed a season-high four rebounds as the Jaguars outrebounded ISU 42-24. The Sycamores were limited to just six offensive rebounds and cashed them in for just five second chance points. 

Sophomore John Ashworth added seven points and a career-high six rebounds and Pettiford had six points, five rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.

"We did a good job of closing out on their shooters and holding them to one shot," Hunter said. "We talked about that. We knew they'd hit some threes but we wanted to make sure they only got one crack at it each possession."

The win improved IUPUI to 2-1 all-time against the Sycamores. 

IUPUI continues its tough non-conference slate on Saturday when it heads to Amherst to take on UMass at 4:00 p.m.. The Jags knocked off the Minutemen last season in The Jungle. Pregame coverage begins on XL 950 at 3:30 p.m. with Greg Rakestraw on the call.