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LAS VEGAS - The IUPUI basketball team put up a stout effort, but was unable to get over the hump as the Jaguars dropped a 56-54 contest to No. 7/7 San Diego State in the opening game of the 2010 Jerry Tarkanian Holiday Hoops Classic inside South Point Arena in Las Vegas. The Jaguars scored the final eight points of the game, but missed a potential game-tying jumper in the final seconds in the loss.

The defeat was the fourth in five games for the Jags and dropped the program to 0-11 all-time against ranked opponents at the Division I level. Four of those 11 losses have come this season including an earlier loss to the Aztecs in Oxford, Ohio.

"I'm proud of our kids," IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. "We had Ohio State in a similar situation and to be honest, our kids are getting a little frustrated and they want a win over a ranked opponent. All I can ask is that our guys give me their best effort and they did that tonight.

"I'm really proud of my guys."

IUPUI (5-8) trailed 56-46 with 5:55 left when Tim Shelton dropped a layup over the front of the rim, but that would be the Aztecs' final tally of the night. The Jaguars immediately came back with a driving layup from Stephen Thomas and then forced a shot clock violation on the next SDSU (14-0) trip.

The next three points came when Alex Young split a pair of free throws at the 4:23 mark and then dropped in a twisting layup with 3:46 left, prompting an SDSU timeout. Both defenses managed stops on the next two possessions until IUPUI finally crept within four. Freshman P.J. Hubert missed the front end of a one-and-one, but IUPUI maintained possession when Young rebounded the miss. Seconds later, fellow freshman Mitchell Patton earned a trip to the line and hit the second of two to make it 56-52 with 1:36 left.

After another SDSU timeout, IUPUI came up with a critical steal from All-American candidate Kawhi Leonard, leading to an easy Young dunk in transition. IUPUI's final defensive stand of the night came when D.J. Gay misfired a contested three with just under 50 seconds to play and Thomas chased down the rebound.

IUPUI opted to melt away the clock, but the upset bid fell short when Young misfired on a challenged 18-footer and SDSU's Billy White grabbed the loose ball in the corner. 

"We wanted it to be the last possession because we were dead tired," Hunter said of the final play. "I wanted it to be a three, but we put the ball in our best player's hands and let him make the decision. We had shooters on the floor with him, but we just came up short. (Alex) was completely wiped out, but he got us there. Without Alex, we're not in that position."

Young had a game-high 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to pace three Jaguars in double-digits. Thomas added 11, all in the second half, and Christian Siakam finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and ripped down five boards.

Gay led the victors with 18 points, but went just 2-of-10 from three and 7-of-16 overall. Malcolm Thomas provided 12 points and nine boards and Leonard was limited to seven points and three rebounds.

IUPUI became the first team to outshoot SDSU in a game all season, hitting 47.7 percent to the Aztecs 46.9 percent. The Jaguars also outrebounded the taller, more athletic San Diego State club 28-23.

"That's one of the best rebounding teams in the country and we held our own against them," Hunter said. "That's something that we have to take away from this game. And another thing I like is how we hung in there when they made their run. When they get a team down, it goes from seven to 20 quick and we didn't let them do that."

In the first half, the Jaguars used the same blueprint for success against the Aztecs as they had a month earlier in Oxford. IUPUI hit 11-of-20 from the floor and matched SDSU with 12 rebounds to take a 29-27 halftime lead. In Oxford, the Jaguars led 23-20 at the break before being outscored by 18 points in the second stanza.