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FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The IUPUI basketball team rattled off an 18-0 second half run to run past IPFW, 79-69 at Memorial Coliseum on Thursday afternoon. Sophomore Alex Young scored a career-high 29 points and senior Billy Pettiford scored a season-high 15 points in 37 minutes.

The win snapped an IUPUI (10-5, 3-0 Summit) losing skid and was the Jaguars’ first true road win since Nov. 18. It was the Jags’ ninth straight win over the Mastodons.

“Our senior leadership was the difference in this ballgame. Everytime Billy (Pettiford) made a play today, it helped us. Without him, we don’t win,” IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. “He was the difference. He kept us calm down the stretch and our guys knew what it takes to win on the road.

“This is a really good win. Any time you go on the road and get a win in this league, it’s a really good win.”

After Zach Plackemeier stroked a top-of-the-key three at the 10:28 mark to give the ‘Dons a brief 57-55 lead, the IUPUI defense cranked up the effort, spurring the decisive run. Pettiford started the run at the defensive end, blocking a Brandon Gaines driving layup attempt, which Young then converted into a wing three, making it 62-57.

For Young, it was the first of 10 straight points, including a wide open three in front of his team’s bench that made it 69-57. By the time Plackemeier snapped the rally, the score was 73-59 and there was only 2:45 left. IPFW (5-7, 0-2 Summit) opted against fouling, allowing the Jaguars to run down the final few possessions.

The first half featured five ties and 10 lead changes as neither team could stop the other’s offense.

IUPUI led by as many as seven in the first half before going to the break with a 46-40 advantage. Junior Leroy Nobles scored 14 of his 17 before intermission including a stretch of seven straight points that included a deep three and a steal that led to a Young left-handed dunk that capped a 9-0 run.

Nobles and Pettiford grabbed seven rebounds each as IUPUI outrebounded the ‘Dons, 35-27. Young hit 12-of-21 shots on his career day and Nobles hit 5-of-8 shots. The IUPUI offense opened the second half by slashing to the bucket and getting in the bonus less than seven minutes in. Despite scoring just two field goals in the opening 10 minutes, the Jags were able to stay in front, aside from Plackemeier’s three.

The Jags turned the ball over just 11 times and shot 51 percent from the floor. IUPUI attempted just eight treys, hitting four.

"Our offense really clicked today," Hunter said. "We can be a hard team to guard, and that was with Rob (Glenn) only getting six. Alex is a tough matchup and Leroy made plays in the first half. Then to get a lift like that from Billy and to get some production off the bench like we did, really makes us a hard team to defend."

Plackemeier led IPFW with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Ben Botts scored 15, all from behind the arc. Deilvez Yearby added 13 points and six rebounds. He also helped neutralize senior forward Robert Glenn, who scored just six points in 15 minutes.

“Once Rob (Glenn) got in foul trouble, we knew he’d have a hard time,” Hunter said. “He’s had a really good year, but every year has some highs and lows. Right now, he’s on a low. It’s not about individual accolades and success – it’s about getting wins.”

IUPUI will wrap up the two-game road trip on Saturday when it takes on Oakland University at 5:30 p.m. EST. That game can be seen in the Indianapolis-area on FS Indiana. In addition, live audio will be available via IUPUIJags.com as Scott McCauley’s pregame coverage will begin at approximately 5:20 p.m..