Box Score Box Score I Box Score (.pdf) I Postgame Press Conference
 
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – Realistically, IUPUI Head Coach Todd Howard knows that at some point, his Jaguars will have to face life without two-time First Team All-Summit League performer Alex Young. On Friday night, the Jaguars got a mini dose of that reality, albeit in unforeseen circumstances. The 6-foot-6 Summit League Preseason Player of the Year was limited to just 13 minutes and tallied just five points as the Jaguars dropped a 62-49 decision at Milwaukee as part of the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Classic.

"I'm real proud of the freshmen and sophomores with Alex's (foul) situation, to get us back in the game in this environment," Howard said. "That's a real positive I'll take from this.

"I thought Marcellus Barksdale played an outstanding game. He is our glue guy, he was really good offensively with all 12 of his points coming in the second half and he did a whale of a job defensively on (Kaylon) Williams."
 
Ryan Allen and Kyle Kelm led Milwaukee with 14 points each and James Haarsma added 11 points and seven boards in the win. Freshman Marcellus Barksdale was the lone Jaguar in double-digits for IUPUI, netting 12 points off the bench, all in the second half.  
 
The Jags seemingly had hurdles to clear all night long. 

Howard's team got down 7-0 in the game's first 2:20 before finally gaining traction and taking a brief 10-9 lead on a Lyonell Gaines layup. However, Milwaukee went back in front on a James Haarsma three from the right wing and never trailed again.
 
Young was whistled for his second foul with 8:08 left before halftime and immediately went to the bench with his team trailing 18-15. With Young on the bench, the Panthers scored six straight, forcing Howard to go back to his star player.
 
Even after Young hit a tough pull-up jumper to snap a four-minute scoreless stretch, the move still backfired. Young, in amongst a scrum for a loose ball at midcourt, was called for his third personal with 3:29 on the clock. The Indianapolis-native slapped the floor in frustration and was immediately hit with a technical foul, representing his fourth personal.

"It was obvious frustration there," Young said. "I reacted in a way I shouldn't. I was proud to see still go out there and compete without me. At the time I was on the bench, I just wanted to be a coach and be a facilitator and help those guys out as much as I could."
 
He later fouled out on a charge call after playing less than four minutes in the second half.
 
The only thing keeping IUPUI in the game in the first half was taking care of the basketball. The Jags were outrebounded 17-8 overall, but forced 10 turnovers and converted them into 13 points. Gaines and Ian Chiles sparked the Jags with 11 points combined off the bench after the starters scored just 12 points in the first 20 minutes.

With Barksdale replacing Young in the second half starting lineup, IUPUI opened up with an 8-0 run to knot the score at 31. The Jaguars did the bulk of their damage at the free throw line, drawing six early fouls before the first media timeout of the second half. IUPUI went in front on a Thomas layup with 16 minutes to play, but the Panthers answered with a 6-0 run and never trailed the rest the way.

IUPUI later closed within three on a Christian Siakam free throw with under 10 minutes to play, and almost cut even more out of the Milwaukee lead when Gaines rebounded the miss. However, the rookie had two putbacks swatted before the hosts pulled away the board. The stand ignited a 9-1 burst over the next four minutes as the hosts put the game away.

Siakam finished with nine points and four boards while Thomas hit just 3-of-13 shots and closed with eight points. IUPUI shot just 30 percent overall and went just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) in the second half. IUPUI was also beaten on the glass 40-28 as Gaines led the Jags with five boards (all offensive). Young's five points were the fewest since Feb. 21 of his freshman campaign and snapped his streak of 26 straight games in double-figures.

Milwaukee hit 43.6 percent overall in the win. Evan Richard was the fourth Panther to reach double-digits, tallying 10 points in 21 minutes off the bench.
 
Sunday's game with Eastern Michigan will tip-off at 4:00 p.m. inside The Jungle and represents game three of the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Classic. Fans who donate a non-perishable canned good on Sunday will be admitted for free. Like always, IUPUI students are admitted for free with a valid JagTag while adult tickets are just $10. Kids 12-and-under are just $7 and children 4-and-under are admitted for free. The game will be the third-ever meeting between IUPUI and EMU.