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INDIANAPOLIS - Senior John Hart was one of five Jaguars to tally double-digits as IUPUI used a late run to overtake Fort Wayne, 88-74 in Summit League action inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday (Dec. 27) night. Senior Greg Rice added 16 and forwards Donovan Gibbs and Lyonell Gaines tallied 12 apiece in the win.

Fort Wayne (6-8, 0-1 Summit) senior swingman Frank Gaines scored a game-high 28 points in the loss and was the lone Mastodon to hit for double-digits. Gaines, The Summit League's third-leading scorer coming into play, hit 10-of-21 shots and 7-of-8 free throws en route to his sixth 20+ scoring game of the season.

The visiting Mastodons led 70-63 with 7:08 to play after Luis Jacobo drove the ball right at Sean Esposito who was playing with four fouls, but rather than wilt, the Jaguars ramped up the intensity and fired back at the visitors.

The Jaguars made one final decisive push and when it came time to make plays, it was IUPUI's version of Gaines that helped secure the win.

"The game got a little fast - they scored off our turnovers and that kind of gave them a cushion," IUPUI head coach Todd Howard said. "We turned up the press, but the press is kind of the back end. You have to really score; you can't just press on deadballs."

IUPUI (6-10, 1-2 Summit) scored at will over the final seven minutes, allowing the Jaguars to continue to set their defense and completely flip the momentum into a victory.

Down 72-69, Gaines came up with a steal near midcourt and took the ball hard to the hole. He drew a foul from IPFW's Frank Gaines, which resulted in a game-tying three-point play with 5:32 left. On the next possession, Gaines helped put the Jags in front for good with yet another steal, eventually leading to Rice splitting a pair of free throws. The Louisville-native pushed the lead out to 78-72 with a third steal in less than three minutes, again resulting in a three-point play after he scored through IPFW's Gaines and Michael Kibiloski in transition with 3:56 left.

The Jaguars went up 80-72 with 1:52 left when Mitchell Patton hit a tough left-handed leaner on the baseline and Rice followed with a steal and uncontested layup to help put the nail in the coffin. The Jaguars made all six of their free throw attempts in the final 1:01 to seal the win.

Ultimately, IUPUI finished the game on a 19-2 run to secure its first league win of the season. The Jaguars improved to 8-4 all-time at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and have now won five-in-a-row on the Indiana Pacers' home floor.

Hart was an efficient 8-of-13 from the field and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe in notching his fourth 20+ scoring effort of the season. He also added four assists and three rebounds and was 3-of-4 from three-point range.

"He was another recipient," Howard said of Hart's effort. "We really kind of craft how we want to play revolves around driving the ball downhill. Even against a good defensive Ball State team, they're going to rotate and over-rotate and that should lead to open shots.

"It starts with that ball movement. John was the recipient. He got out on the break a lot, which was good to see."

Rice hit 7-of-11 shots and was the primary distributor, turning in seven assists for the second straight game against just two turnovers. Gaines scored in double-digits for the second straight game and was 4-of-5 from the floor to accompany his career-high five steals. Patton, playing just his second game since Dec. 5, had 10 points in 15 minutes off the bench and claimed the final two defensive rebounds of the night.

"I wanted (Patton) to play a lot because I know what he's gone through," Howard said. "It was probably a little too much early. I wanted him to have some success, rather than have him start and feel a little rusty.

"I thought he did a whale of a job in terms of just being there when we needed him. It's a different look when you bring him in off the bench. He really made some plays down the stretch."

All total, IUPUI shot 72 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the game shooting 58.9 percent. The Jaguars had hit 50 percent from three-point range in each of the past two games before connecting on 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) attempts on Thursday. It was also the first time all season five Jaguars had scored in double-figures.

On the flip side, Fort Wayne shot an efficient 49 percent overall but hit 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from three-point range. Mario Hines, Kibiloski and Joe Edwards all finished with nine points while Isaiah McCray had seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

True to form based on the numbers coming in, Fort Wayne turned the ball over 16 times and dished out just 10 assists while IUPUI had 16 helpers against just 12 miscues. IUPUI used the turnover advantage to outscore the 'Dons, 25-15.

IUPUI started the game with a quick 10-3 lead, thanks to early treys from Hart and Esposito, but IPFW later used an 8-0 run to take a 20-18 lead with 7:49 left before halftime. The Jaguars again seemingly took control with a 37-28 lead at the 2:36 mark, but Fort Wayne closed the half with a 9-2 run to leave the score knotted at 39 at the break. Kibiloski had five straight points in the run, including a soft three-pointer that rolled through from the right wing.

IUPUI will continue its home stretch at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday when the Jaguars host Oakland University at 3:00 p.m.. That game can be heard on WNDE.com and through the free iHeartRadio app available on smartphones as Scott McCauley's (pxp) pregame coverage begins at approximately 2:45 p.m.. Additionally, fans can watch the game online through the IUPUI LIVE! subscription service available on IUPUIJags.com. Tickets for Saturday's game are available through Ticketmaster or by calling John Rasmussen at 317-274-5453.