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ROCHESTER, Mich. - Host Oakland University outlasted IUPUI 85-82 at the Athletics Center O'Rena in a battle of Summit League unbeatens on Saturday night. The Jaguars trailed by as many as 13 in the second half before using a full-court press defense to claw back in the contest.

IUPUI (10-6, 3-1 Summit) had a chance to tie the game on the final play of regulation after Derick Nelson split a pair of free throws with 10.5 seconds left, but junior John Ashworth misfired on a 35-footer at the final horn. Nelson led all players with 24 points and nine rebounds and OU center Keith Benson had 23 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Senior Robert Glenn led five Jaguars in double-figures with 21 points and Leroy Nobles tossed in 16 points and seven rebounds.

"We had our chances," IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. "I know (John) Ashworth would love to have that one-and-one over again and then we missed another opportunity with Rob (Glenn), but defensively, we didn't play well enough to win this game. It was a great college game, but unfortunately, we didn't make enough plays to win."

In true feline fashion, IUPUI expended a full nine lives on Saturday night before falling short.

Ashworth got IUPUI within two at 74-72 when he swished a three from the top of the key with 2:57 left, but Oakland (9-7, 3-0 Summit) came back with seven straight points in just 72 seconds. Ashworth missed the front end of a one-and-one and Glenn missed a layup from point blank range, helping the Golden Grizzlies seemingly put the nail in the coffin.

The guests had a final run in them though, fueled by sophomore Alex Young, who had missed 11 of 14 field goal attempts up to that point. A Young driving layup made it 81-74 with 1:37 to play and then the lefty picked off the ensuing inbounds pass after a timeout and dropped in an uncontested bucket six seconds later. After Johnathon Jones missed at the other end, the 6-foot-6 lefty swished his second trey of the game at the 1:15 mark, cutting the lead to two.

Oakland then turned the ball over on a 10-second violation that came to fruition after the officials watched a video replay after OU Head Coach Greg Kampe seemingly called timeout from the sidelines. Following a lengthy delay, IUPUI was awarded the ball at midcourt with 59.6 left. Senior Billy Pettiford came up short on a potential game tying 17-footer with 47 seconds left and Oakland made a free throw after a foul on the rebound.

Down by three, Glenn turned the ball over on an errant pass, eventually leading to two OU made freebies. Ashworth came down and swished a three with 12 seconds left before Nelson left the door open on the final possession.

IUPUI's entire starting five finished in double-figures as Young scored 15 and Pettiford and Ashworth tallied 13 each.

Oakland's longer front line was the difference in the ballgame as the Golden Grizzlies outrebounded IUPUI 41-27 overall and 18-12 off the offensive glass. The 18 offensive rebounds led to 17 OU second chance points, offsetting IUPUI's advantage in turnovers (18-9) on Saturday.

"You can't give up 18 offensive rebounds and expect to win," Hunter said. "But again, that goes back to us not being good enough defensively tonight."

Jones finished with 12 points and 11 assists and freshman Ledrick Eackles scored a career-high 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Oakland shot 50.8 percent from the floor and held IUPUI to just 47.6 percent.

Oakland looked poised to blow out the Jags from the opening tip, building a quick 13-4 run in the opening three minutes. The Golden Grizzlies made four of their first five three-point attempts, including two from Nelson. Glenn kept the Jags in the game early, scoring 12 of the Jags' first 18 points on an array of mid-range jumpers.

IUPUI pulled even twice in the first half including on a Nobles fast break dunk at the 6:15 mark, but OU countered with a 6-0 run before eventually leading 44-40 at the half.

The Jaguars will now host Ohio University in its final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday night. It'll be the first of three games at Conseco Fieldhouse during the month of January.

"We'll come home, get some home cooking and hopefully continue to play well," Hunter said. "This has been a tough stretch for us, going to Memphis and then this two-game trip. It'll be good to sleep in our own beds and get home for some games.

"We've got to get people to come out and support these guys because this group's going to have a fine year."

Wednesday's game will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. from Conseco with free game day audio and subscription video being available on IUPIUJags.com. Scott McCauley (play-by-play) and Jared Lux (analyst) will call the action with pregame coverage beginning at approximately 6:50 p.m..