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INDIANAPOLIS - Senior Stephen Thomas swished a long three from the right wing with 22 seconds left to break a 63-all tie and send IUPUI to a 66-63 victory over IPFW inside The Jungle on Saturday (Feb. 4) afternoon. IUPUI trailed by 10 with 6:28 to play but finished the game on a 21-8 run to earn its second straight Summit League victory.

Senior Alex Young scored a game-high 21 points and Thomas matched his career-high with 20, including 14 in the second half. Fellow senior Christian Siakam added 15 points and seven boards while the rest of the squad accounted for just 10 points.

"The guys knew the ball was going to bounce our way," IUPUI head coach Todd Howard said. "We were down because we missed some layups, missed a free throw here, we had great execution but just didn't get shots to fall.

"I thought our defensive effort carried us through some of those things. It's probably as well as we've played defensively in terms of effort and forcing tons of timely turnovers and tons of timely deflections."

Trey McCorkle paced four Mastodons in double-digits with 14 points and seven boards and both Frank Gaines and Mario Hines finished with 13 each in the loss.

IUPUI (10-15, 4-9 Summit) was on the wrong end of a 55-45 score with 6:28 to play after IPFW (10-13, 4-10 Summit) had scored six straight points. The Jaguars began chipping away using the free throw line, hitting six straight attempts to shave four points off the 'Dons lead over the next 1:35.

Young pulled IUPUI within four at 57-53 by knifing through the defense for a layup at the 4:21 mark. After another defensive stand, Thomas made it a one point game with his first of three threes in the final 3:16. His first came after Siakam kicked out an offensive board to Thomas at the top of the key. The Indianapolis-native pump faked a defender before swishing the triple to make the score 57-56.

IPFW's Jonny Marlin answered at the opposite end, hitting an open attempt as the shot clock was winding down to give the Mastodons a two-possession lead with 2:45 to play. Sophomore Ian Chiles responded with a long jumper before IPFW pushed its lead back to three with a John Peckinpaugh free throw.

The rest of the way was the Thomas show. After the two teams traded turnovers, Thomas tied the game at 61 with a step back triple on the right wing with 1:35 left. IPFW went back in front when Antwaun Boyd was fouled sprinting the other way and subsequently hit both free throws.

Siakam knotted the score again at 63 at the foul line with 70 seconds left after he was fouled by McCorkle while working along the right block. IUPUI came up with a key defensive stop when Gaines turned the ball over right in front of his own bench with 48 seconds left.

On the ensuing possession, Young had his initial attempt blocked out of bounds, allowing the Jaguars to compose and regroup. Young had the ball out top, but shifted a pass to Thomas who confidently drained the game's final bucket with 22 seconds left.

"I definitely did," Thomas said when asked if he wanted the ball down the stretch. "I think all three of us seniors want the ball in our hands at the end of the game to make plays.

"We've worked so hard over all our careers. Our backs are against the wall right now, but we're going to keep fighting and keep clawing and I think us three (seniors) are going to lead us through to get to that (Summit League) tournament."

Gaines missed badly with 15 seconds left and Chiles rebounded the ball underneath and was instantly fouled. The sophomore had a chance to ice the game with 11.8 seconds left, but missed both free throws to give IPFW life. However, Gaines missed a contested three from the left wing and Marlin was unable to get off another attempt as time expired.

IPFW hit just 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) from downtown while IUPUI made 5-of-10 (50 percent) on an otherwise dreary shooting day. The Jaguars made just 16-of-43 (37.2 percent) inside the arc and finished the game shooting 39.6 percent from the floor.

Thomas finished 5-of-12 overall and 3-of-5 from three, while hitting 7-of-10 at the foul line. The lead guard also had four boards, a team-high three assists and a steal. Young scored 15 of his game-high 21 before halftime and ended up with five rebounds, two assists and three steals. The 6-foot-6 lefty also pulled even with former Valpo standout Bryce Drew for No. 6 on The Summit League's all-time scoring list, ending the night with 2,147 career tallies. Siakam, who missed time late in the game to foul trouble, hit 5-of-11 shots and all five of his free throw attempts.

McCorkle was 4-of-9 overall and 6-of-6 at the foul line while Joe Edwards provided the 'Dons with a huge lift off the bench, scoring 11 points on just four shot attempts. The freshman was 3-of-3 from three in his 25 minutes of action.

IUPUI had built a seven-point lead midway through the first half before going stone cold late. The Jaguars were stuck on 22 points for more than four minutes as IPFW used the drought to take a 29-28 halftime lead.

With the win, IUPUI claimed a series split with the 'Dons this year after having lost in Fort Wayne by five points on Jan. 5.

IUPUI will continue Summit League play next week when it embarks on a two-game road trip to Oklahoma and Utah. On Thursday (Feb. 9), the Jaguars will take on Summit League leaders Oral Roberts inside the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla. at 8:05 p.m. Eastern. The trip will conclude with Saturday's game at Southern Utah. Thursday's matchup can be heard in Indianapolis on WNDE 1260 AM or via the web at WNDE.com. Scott McCauley's (pxp) call can also be heard through the free iHeartRadio app, available for smartphones.