Box Score Box Score I Box Score (.pdf) I Photo Gallery I Video Highlights I Todd Howard Postgame I Christian Siakam Postgame

INDIANAPOLIS - Senior Christian Siakam scored 17 of his team-high 21 points in the first half and Summit League Preseason Player of the Year Alex Young tossed in 20 as the Jaguars cruised to a 101-68 win over Anderson inside the Jungle on Friday (Nov. 11) night. The game was the head coaching debut of Todd Howard, who was greeted with a full house on hand for the 2011-12 season opener.

"I thought we capitalized on the miscues we forced," Howard said. "We've been good at forcing turnovers and then that enabled us to really play our brand of basketball. Making threes in transition, taking care of the ball. (It was) a high possession game and we only turned it over seven times and some of those were late.

"We made free throws. We climbed on the glass. It was a collective effort and we played a lot of guys, but mainly because a lot of guys have earned playing time. On every level, I thought we succeeded."

It was a success right from the outset as IUPUI (1-0) got off to an electrifying start, blasting out to a 12-1 lead in less than three minutes thanks to threes from Donovan Gibbs and Sean Esposito. Anderson settled down and got back within seven midway through the first stanza until a 15-0 IUPUI hammer ended any suspense before halftime. Siakam and Young accounted for all 15 points of the run, beginning with a driving layup from the Cameroon-native to make it 25-14 at the 9:41 mark.

Young then took his game outside to hit a midrange jumper, followed by back-to-back threes to push the lead to 19. After a Siakam steal, Young was fouled in transition and hit a free throw to make it 34-14 and then the duo each dropped in a bucket to push the score to 38-14.

IUPUI took a 52-29 lead to halftime after making 58 percent from the floor and 6-of-12 from three in the first 20 minutes.

Anderson got within 17 with 15:44 to play, prompting Howard to call timeout. After the break, the Jags responded with a 14-0 rally, holding Anderson scoreless for more than four minutes. Young fueled the run with his third three of the game and freshman Lyonell Gaines punctuated it with a two-handed dunk after Sean Esposito collected a steal and the assist in the backcourt.

Gaines finished with 14 points off the bench in his collegiate debut and sophomore Ian Chiles added 11 points, five boards and four assists in his first career game. Esposito chipped in eight points and three steals and sophomore Greg Rice had seven points and three boards in his first collegiate start. Altogether, all 11 Jaguars scored and collectively hit 54.2 percent from the floor and 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from three. Included in the 10 treys were the first career triples from both Gibbs and Siakam as seven different players hit at least one three.

"I just went for it. I was just playing and didn't even think about it," Siakam said of his three. "I try to add that to my game everyday in practice and it worked tonight."

Siakam's 21-point effort tied his career-high, which came in the 2010-11 season finale loss to Oral Roberts in The Summit League tournament.

Indianapolis-native Phil Hogan was the lone Anderson player to reach double-digits with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Justin Reed added eight points and three assists in the defeat.

IUPUI corrected some deficiencies from the preseason as well, hitting 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) from the free throw line and turning the ball over just seven times against 18 assists. The Jaguars also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Ravens 40-30 overall and grabbing 18 offensive rebounds. Siakam led all players with nine boards, including six offensive.

"I just need to get inside and get going inside because that opens it up for everyone else," Siakam said, who went 9-of-12 from the floor.

"We were deep tonight and that's without two bona fide rotation guys," Howard said. "The depth was there. We told them, make it tough on us as coaches on who to play. They're preparing to play minutes.

"I was happy for the guys that they were able to unleash their games tonight."

IUPUI improved to 13-1 in home openers in its Division I era and 8-6 in season openers since 1998.

As part of Military Appreciation Night, the night began with Staff Sergeant Nick Bennett being honored on the court before the game. Staff Sergeant Bennett was injured in Iraq on Veterans Day in 2004 and is now part of the Wounded Warrior Project which focuses on empowering injured veterans upon their returns to the United States. Bennett and his father, Mike, were presented with an IUPUI jersey and autographed ball prior to the contest.

"We wanted to do that and wanted to show him a special night, " Howard said. "He's one of the many true heroes that's risked his life so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do enjoy, so anytime you can pay that respect and make a gesture like that, it's important to do so."

After opening the year at home, the Jaguars will now hit the road to play at UALR as part of the Auto-Owners Spartan Invitational. IUPUI will hook up with the Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov. 15) in the first of four games in the event constructed by Michigan State. Pregame coverage will begin at approximately 6:50 p.m. on WNDE 1260, WNDE.com and the iHeartRadio app as Scott McCauley (pxp) calls the action from courtside. The meeting will mark the first-ever between the two schools.