Box Score
SHREVEPORT, La. - IUPUI got a career-high 20 points from sophomore swingman Leroy Nobles and hit 62 percent from the floor on its way to an easy 79-67 win at Centenary on Thursday night. Nobles hit 7-of-8 shots, including all four of his three-point attempts, to post his first career 20-point effort. Junior Robert Glenn also scored 20 on 7-of-9 shooting and freshman Alex Young added 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds in his return to the starting lineup.
Overall, IUPUI (14-11, 7-7 Summit) made 28-of-45 from the floor and a season-high 58 percent from beyond the arc to avenge an earlier loss to Centenary (7-18, 5-8). The much taller Jaguars also outrebounded Centenary 31-24 overall and outscored the Gents 38-25 in the paint.
Despite the efficient offensive performance, IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter tipped his cap to his team's defense as the Jaguars won for the fifth time in six games.
"It was about getting (defensive) stops," Hunter said. "I thought we were really focused defensively tonight and when this team plays well defensively, we can be really good.
"We got that (12-0) run to end the first half and that was all because of our defense."
IUPUI held Centenary scoreless for over eight minutes spanning the two halves, turning a 31-26 deficit into a 44-31 lead with 16:52 to play. The Jaguars scored the final 12 points of the first half, four coming on Young drives to the hole. IUPUI opened the second half with an 11-2 run with the final five coming on a Nobles three and tip-in of a Young miss.
The advantage remained in double-digits the rest of the night as the Jaguars casually pushed the lead out to 78-51 with under four minutes left. Centenary closed the evening on a 16-1 run during extended mop-up time.
"I wasn't too thrilled with how we ended the game, but we had some bad lineups out on the floor," Hunter said. "The good news is, we got to rest some guys, especially Gary (Patterson). He's a little banged up right now, so the fact that he only had to play 26 minutes was probably as important as any stat tonight."
Patterson hit 4-of-7 shots to finish with nine points, all before halftime. IUPUI opened the game by hitting five of its first six shots to take an early 10-4 lead. However, Centenary methodically built a 25-20 lead behind Gary Redus II and Nick Stallings.
Young quickly erased the five-point deficit with back-to-back threes, but the Gents reeled off six straight before being halted at 31.
Redus scored a game-high 24 points, but hit just 7-of-19 attempts. Chase Adams added 20 points and seven assists, but Stallings was held to 10. Centenary shot 43 percent from the floor and 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from three.
"We were a very angry basketball team," Hunter said. "We got beat up by North Dakota State, so since then, we've had a bunch of three-hour practices. I'm really happy with how our guys responded tonight."
Hunter opted to make wholesale changes to the starting lineup, re-inserting Young in place of Adrian Moss and Billy Pettiford for Jon Avery. Pettiford had a team-high five assists and grabbed six boards in 32 minutes.
"We wanted to put Billy back in there because he's one of our best passers and then we could throw over the top of them," Hunter said. "We told our guys to take their time, space them out with shooters on the wings and the inside will be there."
Hunter's squad improved to 9-3 all-time against Centenary and 4-2 in games played in Shreveport.
IUPUI concludes its two-game road trip in Tulsa, Okla. on Saturday when it takes on Oral Roberts at 8:05 p.m. EST (7:05 CST). XL 950's pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. and the game can be seen on DirecTV and ESPN360. ORU won the previous meeting between the two schools, 67-58 on Jan. 15 in Indianapolis.
