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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - IUPUI matched its season-low for offensive output and was unable to make plays down the stretch as it bowed out in the quarterfinals in The Summit League Tournament to fifth-seeded Southern Utah, 53-48 on Sunday. IUPUI's 48 points were the fewest ever in a league tournament game as the Jaguars were eliminated in the opening round for the first time ever.
"For whatever reason, we were lethargic," IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. "I thought the kids played hard, but we looked like we did the first week of the season offensively.
"Let's give (SUU) some credit, their defense really forced some things."
After Robert Glenn put IUPUI (16-14) up 39-38 with 8:34 left with a pair of free throws, Southern Utah's (11-19) Davis Baker scored nine straight to make it 47-39 at the 5:24 mark. Glenn immediately answered, converting a three-point play and hitting two free throws to make it 47-44 with just over three minutes left.
IUPUI later closed within one with 97 seconds left when Jon Avery dropped in a layup after Billy Pettiford started a fast break with a steal. That ended up being IUPUI's final field goal though and SUU hit four late free throws to ice the win.
Avery and Patterson led three Jaguars in double-digits with 12 each and Glenn, The Summit Newcomer of the Year, finished with 10 points in 24 foul plagued minutes. Avery hit 4-of-7 shots and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while Patterson, who came off the bench for the first time all season, hit two of IUPUI's three threes.
Baker led all players with 25 points, hitting 9-of-16 overall and 4-of-8 from three. Tyler Quinney added 17 points and nine rebounds and scored SUU's first 11 points of the game.
Quinney's hot start staked SUU to a 13-8 lead, but IUPUI seemingly found a rhythm as the half wore on.
Despite Glenn sitting on the bench for nearly the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza with two fouls, the Jaguars were able to build a six-point lead when Avery scored back-to-back layups heading into the under four-minute timeout. The second came when Larry Stone penetrated through the SUU defense and hit the junior with a wrap around pass to start a three-point play.
Southern Utah cut the lead back to 26-25 by halftime, thanks to a Mike Josserand three from the right corner.
SUU ended the game with a 38-23 rebounding advantage to help offset its 21 turnovers. IUPUI, which entered play ranked among the nation's top 25 in field goal shooting, never found its collective touch inside the Sioux Falls Arena, hitting just 16-of-43 (37.2 percent) attempts. Southern Utah faced a similar oddity though, as the nation's top free throw shooting team hit just 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) at the charity stripe.
"This is the youngest group I have ever had to coach," Hunter said. "We returned only two or three guys with experience. We won't make excuses - we had enough experience to play. We've had all year to get ready for this.
"This will help us next year."
By ending the season at 16-14, IUPUI ran its streak to nine straight seasons finishing at or above .500. Avery set a new IUPUI single-season record, hitting 67.9 percent from the floor during his junior year while Patterson, IUPUI's lone senior, closed his collegiate career ranked fourth on IUPUI's all-time list in threes made and attempted.
