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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team battled The Summit League's top dog Oral Roberts neck-and-neck for more than 33 minutes on Saturday (Jan. 14) night, but suffered through a late scoring drought that lasted nearly six minutes and saw the guests take advantage as the Jaguars dropped an 81-71 decision. ORU (16-4, 8-0 Summit) reeled off a decisive 15-0 run after the game had featured 18 ties and 16 lead changes up to that point.

The loss was IUPUI's (8-12, 2-6 Summit) fourth straight while Oral Roberts won for the ninth straight time.

Senior Alex Young scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-27 shooting and added four steals in the loss while Warren Niles paced four Golden Eagles in double-digits with 23 points. Fifth-year senior Michael Craion added a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards and 6-foot-10 junior center Damen Bell-Holter registered 18 points and nine boards. ORU's top scorer, Dominique Morrison, was held to just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

"There was a hunger there," IUPUI head coach Todd Howard said of his team's play. "I thought our seniors did a heck of a job, as they have. Alex was a man tonight. A lot of us fed off of him.

"We made six more field goals and only turned it over three times. Most nights that spells victory." 

ORU offset the turnover margin by outrebounding the smaller Jaguars 42-27 overall and by grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. The Golden Eagles also enjoyed a 35-12 advantage in free throw attempts and outscored the Jaguars 26-8 at the foul line.

"I thought we did go blow for blow and I thought the major league problem was we weren't allowed to fight back," Howard said. "When the free throws are 35-12 and we only fouled a little bit late, it made it tough.

"When they get to live at the line and shoot 35 free throws, it's going to be a tough night. That's a shame because of how hard we played. I thought we played outstanding from start to finish and I think we put on a pretty good show for everyone." 

The pendulum was seemingly swinging the Jaguars direction with 7:40 to play when Young hammered home a two-handed dunk off an alley-oop from sophomore Ian Chiles, giving the Jaguars a 63-60 lead. However, Niles immediately answered with a bucket in transition to start ORU's clinching run.

Morrison put the Golden Eagles in front for good with a pull-up jumper with 6:49 to play and the wind seemed to leave the Jags' sails on the next possession. After Chiles missed a trey, senior Christian Siakam was whistled for an over-the-back foul, sending Niles to the free throw line. The Cincinnati-native hit the first, but missed the second, leading to a Bell-Holter offensive board. After he missed his tip-in chance, Craion cashed in on a second opportunity to make it a four-point game. After a 30-second timeout, IUPUI misfired again, eventually leading to two more ORU free throws.

Morrison netted a dagger with a 16-footer in transition after IUPUI turned the ball over for just the third time all night. By the time Siakam stopped the run with a right-handed hook shot at the 2:07 mark, ORU had the game in hand.

"Dominique Morrison is one of my favorite players," Howard said. "I hate playing against him so much and I thought we did a heck of a job (against him). I think he made one shot at the half, but made some key shots down the stretch. (Oral Roberts) played a heck of a game, as you know they would.

"They're one of the hottest teams in America."

ORU hit 51 percent from the floor and 5-of-12 from three. Niles finished 3-of-5 from deep and hit 10-of-11 free throws in the win. Chiles was the only other Jag to reach double-digits with 10 points and Stephen Thomas finished with eight points and four assists. Both Donovan Gibbs and Mitchell Patton scored eight each off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting.

The first half was played almost exclusively on even footing as neither team led by more than five and there were 11 ties and eight lead changes. ORU jumped out to a 9-4 lead just over four minutes in but the Jaguars responded with eight straight points, six of which came from Patton. Late in the half, IUPUI built a 28-24 lead but Niles answered with back-to-back threes, the second of which tied the game at 30 all. The two teams traded buckets three straight times over the final 2:42 to head to the break tied at 36 all.

The loss was the Jaguars' fourth straight against ORU after dropping all three meetings a year ago.

IUPUI will now hit the road for three straight Summit League games, beginning in Vermillion, S.D. on Thursday (Jan. 19) when the Jaguars take on the University of South Dakota for the first time in school history. Tipoff is slated for 8:00 p.m. Eastern as Scott McCauley (pxp) will call the action on WNDE 1260. His call can also be heard on WNDE.com and via the iHeartRadio app available on smartphones.