Box Score

CEDAR CITY, Utah - IUPUI sank its first six field goal attempts and raced out to a 13-3 lead on its way to a critical 79-65 win at Southern Utah on Thursday night. Junior Robert Glenn continued his impressive play, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds, a season-high five steals and two rejections in 33 minutes.

Glenn was one of four Jaguars to score in the game opening 13-3 run as IUPUI (11-10, 4-6 Summit) led from opening tap to final horn.

"We're still making some mistakes, but we're playing downhill basketball," IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. "And what I mean by that is that we're getting a lead and our offense is coming easier to us.

"I like that we almost scored 80 points and Gary (Patterson) only had 12. Gary doesn't have to carry us every night offensively."

Hunter got 15 each from Jon Avery and Leroy Nobles while Gary Patterson made just 4-of-12 shots to finish with 12. Offensively, IUPUI handed out 21 assists on 30 field goals and shot 61 percent from the floor.

Southern Utah's (6-15, 4-6 Summit) Dave Marek hit all seven of his three-point tries to score a game-high 23, but the Thunderbirds top scorer Davis Baker was limited to six.

"It wasn't one of our best defensive efforts, but on the road, we'll take it," Hunter said. 

The Jags forced 17 turnovers, converting them into 21 points at the other end. IUPUI defenders accounted for 11 steals and the Jaguars' athleticism accounted for a 38-14 scoring advantage in the paint. 

Sophomore Adrian Moss, making his fourth career start, was the catalyst in the opening few minutes, hitting consecutive short jumpers and collecting two early steals. His second pilfer helped setup a Patterson three at the 16:28 mark that put the Jaguars up 10 before the first media timeout. 

SUU got within two with 3:47 left in the half on a Drew Allen jumper, but Nobles countered with a left-handed layup and open three to push the lead back to seven. IUPUI led by 33-27 at halftime after shooting 57 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

The T-Birds threatened on multiple occasions in the second half, but IUPUI repeatedly answered at the other end.

Six straight SUU points cut the IUPUI lead to 40-39 with 13:48 left, but Nobles swished a three off a Patterson feed and Avery picked Jake Nielson's pocket on the defensive end. After an empty possession, Avery fed Glenn for a long jumper to push the lead back to six.

IUPUI maintained a two possession lead over the final 10 minutes and pushed the lead to double figures over the final seven. Tyler Quinney cut it to 52-46 with 8:47 left but Alex Young and Patterson made threes in succession to end any comeback hopes.

IUPUI's starting frontcourt of Avery and Glenn combined to make 15-of-17 shots, grab 15 rebounds and sink 7-of-9 free throws. Avery led IUPUI with eight rebounds and Nobles drilled 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and handed out a career-high six assists.
 
"One person that doesn't get talked about a lot who's playing really good basketball is Leroy Nobles," Hunter said. "He had 17 the other night and 15 tonight - he's really got it going right now."

Quinney had 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting, but turned the ball over five times. Nielson was the third T-Bird to reach double-digits with 11 points and six caroms off the bench.

"We didn't want to let Quinney get 18 or 20 points tonight and I thought we did a good job on him," Hunter said.

The win was IUPUI's second straight road win and sixth win in its past seven trips to Cedar City. It also pulled the Jaguars into a four-way tie for fifth place in The Summit League standings heading into Saturday's game at UMKC. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EST from Kemper Arena with XL 950's pregame coverage beginning at 7:30. 

IUPUI won the previous meeting between the two schools, 72-69 in Indianapolis on Dec. 31.