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INDIANAPOLIS - Senior big man Christian Siakam scored a career-high 23 points and junior sharpshooter Sean Esposito tied his career-best with 18 points off the bench as IUPUI outlasted Oakland in a wild affair, 79-75 on Wednesday (Feb. 1) night inside The Jungle. Travis Bader led Oakland with 20 points off the bench and Reggie Hamilton notched 18 points and eight assists.

The win snapped IUPUI's seven game losing streak and was the Jaguars' third straight over the Golden Grizzlies in Indianapolis.

"I just like the way we played," IUPUI head coach Todd Howard said. "That's a nucleus of guys that has played good, big games in February. We're throwing everything out. It's about February right now. We'll get to March when it gets here.

"We just want to put our best effort forward. I thought tonight was a great effort."

Nothing came easy for the Jaguars though as the hosts had to show some moxie down the stretch to win a key Summit League matchup. After senior Stephen Thomas put the Jags in front 73-68 with 2:16 left, Oakland's (12-13, 6-7 Summit) Drew Valentine got to the free throw line after rebounding a Dante Williams airball of a three-point attempt. Valentine hit the first and missed the second, but managed to crash the lane for his own board.

He immediately kicked the ball out to Hamilton, who stuck an open three. On IUPUI's next trip, Esposito missed a pair of attempts, giving the Golden Grizzlies the ball with under a minute to play. However, Siakam collected a steal on a Hamilton drive and threw the ball ahead to sophomore Ian Chiles, who converted an acrobatic layup in transition and drew a foul. He completed the three-point play, but Oakland responded again. This time, Bader connected an off balanced three from the corner to cut IUPUI's lead to 76-75.

IUPUI (9-15, 3-9 Summit) gave the Golden Grizzlies life as senior Alex Young was called for a walk in the backcourt, turning the ball over with 24 seconds to play. Trailing by a point, Hamilton missed a tough runner in traffic and Young cradled the rebound before being fouled with 11.9 to play. Young split the two free throws, giving the Grizz one last chance. Once again, Hamilton missed a hotly contested runner and Esposito sprinted out with the rebound with 0.6 seconds to play. The junior guard capped his 18-point effort with two freebies to end it.

"We've been trying to do this since the beginning. We always get close but have been losing close games. Today we were just able to close out the game and it starts with (defensive) stops," Siakam said. "That's what Coach Howard always preaches, 'stops, stops, stops'."

Esposito hit 5-of-9 shots and 4-of-7 threes while also matching his career-high with four boards in 25 minutes off the bench.

"Just from the get go, the coaches told me be aggressive and when you get in there, be ready to attack," Esposito said. "You've got to help spread the floor and you've got to make open shots when you get your chance.

"It definitely helped with our post game, which I just saw with Christian having 23 points."

Siakam turned in his best game of the season, making 11-of-16 shots while finishing with nine boards, a team-high three assists and two blocked shots. Chiles added 15 points and a career-high eight boards and Young closed with 14 points, eight boards and four steals.

"I'm very proud of (Christian)," Howard said. "He's had a very good year on every level. He's on the floor - he's not picking up a couple of fouls early. You can't score when you're sitting.

"We made a concerted effort. We went to him a lot of different ways, repeatedly. We really thought that he was going to be ready to make moves when he got it and that's the key for him."

"I was able to get the ball inside. That's what we've been preaching for since the beginning of the season - trying to get the ball inside and then working inside-out," Siakam said. "I was able to make some good plays when my teammates needed me."

Laval Lucas-Perry was the only other Oakland player to reach double-digits, scoring 11 first half points on 3-of-6 threes off the bench.

IUPUI sprinted out of the gates, blowing out to a 9-0 lead in the game's first 1:19. Siakam scored on the game's first possession and then Thomas hit an open trey after Chiles had gotten a steal on the Jaguars' first defensive trip. After a Hamilton missed three, Siakam scored again inside to make it a 7-0 game. Then Oakland turned the ball over in the backcourt, leading to a Young 14-footer, prompting OU head coach Greg Kampe to call timeout.

His squad answered with a 13-0 burst, fueled largely by three straight triples by Lucas-Perry. Once the two teams settled in, there were five ties and five first half lead changes as neither team led by more than six after the opening runs. Thomas had a 70-foot hoist at the final horn waved off as the ball remained on his fingertips no more than a tenth of a second after the buzzer sounded as Oakland led 41-36 at the break.

IUPUI opened the second half with a 12-1 run with Young and Siakam accounting for all 12 points. Once again, Oakland answered and neither team led by more than six points at any point after halftime.

IUPUI finished the game shooting 46.8 from the floor and hit 9-of-20 (45 percent) from three. After being outrebounded 20-13 in the first half, IUPUI recovered to win the battle of the boards, 36-33. Oakland shot 46.4 percent overall and 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) from three.

The Jaguars will cap the two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon when they host IPFW at 1:00 p.m.. The game time was moved forward to help avoid traffic and parking issues connected with the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. For campus information, go to this website. That contest can be heard on WNDE 1260 or via WNDE.com or the free iHeartRadio app available for smartphones. Scott McCauley (pbp) will call the game from courtside in The Jungle with pregame coverage beginning at approximately 12:55.

Adult reserved tickets are just $10 while IUPUI students with a valid JagTag are admitted for free. In addition, the Chancellor's office will be providing free pizza to students in attendance to Saturday's doubleheader while quantities last.