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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team got off to another slow start and was never able to recover as the Jaguars dropped an 84-79 Summit League contest to North Dakota State inside the Jungle on Saturday night. The Bison stormed out to a 19-6 lead in the game's first six minutes and never looked back to drop IUPUI to 0-2 to start Summit League play.

Sophomore Taylor Braun led three Bison in double-digits with a career-high 30 points and classmate TrayVonn Wright contributed 16 points, 12 boards and four blocked shots in the win. Senior Alex Young led IUPUI with 20 points on just 6-of-17 shooting and junior Sean Esposito added 14 off the bench in the loss.

NDSU (7-1, 1-1 Summit) shot a blistering 62.2 percent from the floor to offset 21 turnovers while the Jaguars were limited to just 35.5 percent shooting and 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from three. On the flip side, NDSU hit better than 54 percent (6-of-11) from downtown.

After the score was tied at 6-6 early, NDSU fired off a 13-0 run to deflate the Jaguars and keep the Jungle whisper quiet. Lawrence Alexander and Braun began the run with back-to-back threes before Wright tipped-in an Alexander miss to make it 14-6. After the media timeout, Dylan Hale swished a three off an assist from Braun and then the latter called his own number after collecting a steal in transition.

NDSU led by as many as 19 in the first half before IUPUI closed within 45-31 at the break. Sophomore Ian Chiles picked off an errant pass and converted at the other end right before halftime to get the Jaguars within 14. IUPUI's (2-7, 0-2 Summit) inability to get consistent defensive stops prevented the Jaguars from making a substantial second half run. The Jaguars got within 10 with 5:36 left, capping a 7-0 run that stretched over 2:08. Freshman Jordan Shanklin began the run with a corner three and Stephen Thomas followed up with a steal and layup. After a Donovan Gibbs steal, freshman Marcellus Barksdale capped a furious rally at the tin by converting IUPUI's fourth shot attempt in the possession.

The guests pushed the lead back to 14 and IUPUI cut the final margin dramatically with a huge burst in the closing seconds. With 28 seconds left, NDSU sophomore Mike Felt was whistled for a flagrant foul at the offensive end for swinging an elbow into Esposito. Esposito hit both free throws and then swished a three on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to seven. After an easy Wright dunk, Esposito hit again after rebounding a Young miss, making it a six point game.

On NDSU's next possession, sophomore Greg Rice picked off a pass in the backcourt and laid the ball in to make it 83-79 with 4.0 seconds left. However, Nate Zastrow sealed the win for the guests with a free throw with 2.9 ticks left.

Felt finished with 11 points including 5-of-5 from the charity stripe and Alexander's night closed with five points, five boards and eight assists in 36 minutes. Siakam had eight points and six rebounds as he came off the bench for the first time all year and both Thomas and Gibbs tallied six each. Gibbs tied his career-high with seven rebounds as IUPUI outrebounded NDSU 41-35, mainly by collecting 24 of its own misses.

The loss dropped IUPUI to 0-2 in Summit League play for the first time since 2000-01 when the Jaguars went 6-10 in the then Mid-Continent Conference. IUPUI's 2-7 start to the season is the program's worst since the 1999-00 campaign when the team began 2-17 en route to a 7-21 finish.

IUPUI will play its lone road game in the month of December next Wednesday (Dec. 7) night when the Jaguars take on the currently undefeated No. 6 Louisville Cardinals inside the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. as Scott McCauley's pregame coverage can be heard on WNDE 1260 beginning at approximately 6:50. That game can also be heard on WNDE.com and through the free iHeartRadio application available to smartphone users. IUPUI comes in at 0-1 all-time against UofL and 1-9 against teams from the BIG EAST.

The contest will represent a homecoming trip of a number of Jaguars, including Coach Howard. Howard played for legendary head coach Denny Crum at UofL until his graduation in 1993, while assistant coach David Padgett graduated from the university in 2008. The IUPUI roster also includes three Louisville-natives in Chiles, Gibbs and Lyonell Gaines.

Notes: At halftime on Saturday night, the IUPUI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) collected 130 pieces of winter clothing as part of a mitten toss/winter apparel collection. The project was spearheaded by SAAC VP Rachel Zajac.