Box Score

FARGO, N.D. - Trailing 67-55 with 5:37 left, the IUPUI basketball team reeled off a 14-0 run to close out North Dakota State on Saturday night for a thrilling 69-67 win at the Bison Sports Arena. Junior George Hill led all scorers with 33 points and freshman John Ashworth landed the crushing blow, a three from the baseline corner with 1:27 left to set the final margin. It was Ashworth's lone field goal attempt of the game. 

NDSU's Ben Woodside had two looks at a three in the closing seconds, but couldn't connect on either. 

"Tonight was a gut check," IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter said. "Not many people are going to come in here and win. George was an absolute monster tonight, but I'm especially happy for our freshmen. They've been up and down this season, but tonight, they won the game for us."

The win was IUPUI's sixth straight and marked just the second time NDSU (12-12, 6-7) had lost at home this year.

After trailing 36-30 at halftime, IUPUI (19-5, 11-2 Summit) opened the second half with a 10-2 run to make it 40-38 with 16:41 left. The Jaguars stretched their lead to six before North Dakota State rattled off a 16-3 run. 

Woodside opened the run with a three and Brett Winkelman followed with a banked-in three as the shot clock expired. IUPUI's Austin Montgomery briefly stopped the bleeding with an open three of his own, but Woodside and Nelson followed with consecutive treys, making it 62-54. 

Hill split a pair of free throws with 7:58 to play, but the Bison made it 67-55 when Freddy Coleman dropped in a runner with under six minutes to play. At that point, the NDSU high octane offense had hit 14-of-19 tries from three-point range, but that immediately came to a screeching halt. The Bison turned the ball over five times over the final 4:54 as IUPUI methodically chipped away. 

Freshman LeRoy Nobles swished a three off a feed from Hill to make it 67-60 after Drew Conner had picked off a Coleman pass at the other end. Montgomery, who hit just 3-of-11 from the floor, scored four straight points to cut the lead to 67-64. 

NDSU's Lucas Moormann missed an ill advised short jumper with 2:31 left and Hill dropped in a layup to bring the crowd to a hush. After another NDSU turnover, Hill set up Ashworth for just the 11th field goal of his college career. Hill, the league's Preseason Player of the Year, drove the lane drawing a hoard of defenders before kicking out to the wide open rookie. The former Franklin Central-standout calmly swished the trey for the eventual game-winner. 

IUPUI's defense held at the other end as Woodside airballed a step-back three, resulting in a shot clock violation.

"Our defense kept us in the game," Hunter said. "To force 17 turnovers was huge.

"But to be honest, there was never any panic in our huddle. There was no give up in this game. That's part of being an experienced team."

Hill was his typical dominating self, adding seven assists and six rebounds to his 33 points. He hit 14-of-17 at the free throw line and 9-of-14 from the floor. Sophomore Billy Pettiford was the only other Jag to reach double-digits, finishing with 12 on 5-of-7 shooting. Montgomery limped his way to a nine-point night and Gary Patterson scored just five. 

Woodside led NDSU with 24 points, including hitting six treys, although he missed his final four hoists of the game. Nelson totaled 5-of-6 from three en route to 21 points and Winkelman added 14 points and eight rebounds. 

As a team, NDSU hit 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from three-point range while the Jags, the nation's top three-point shooting team, connected on just 5-of-19 (26.3 percent). The slashing Jags outscored the Bison 18-7 at the foul line and committed just nine turnovers. 

After sweeping the two-game trip to the Dakotas, IUPUI will return home for a two-game home stand on Thursday and Saturday. The Jags will open with Centenary College in The Jungle on Thursday with tipoff slated for 7:00 p.m.. The game will be broadcast on Freedom 95.9 FM as Greg Rakestraw will be on the call.