Game Notes (.pdf) I Live Audio I Live Video

INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will look to get back on the winning side of the ledger when the Jaguars host Summit League leader North Dakota State at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday (Jan. 17) night at 7:00 p.m.. The game can be heard on WNDE 1260 AM as Scott McCauley (pxp) calls the action from high above the Indiana Pacers' home court.

Pregame coverage will begin at approximately 6:45 p.m. and live video coverage will begin at tip-off on the IUPUI LIVE! subscription service. Tickets to Thursday's game are $15 each and can be purchased through Ticketmaster outlets or by contacting the IUPUI Athletics Offices at 317-274-5453.

IUPUI (6-14, 1-5 Summit) will be playing its first home game since Dec. 29 and looking to snap a four-game losing skid in the process. The short-handed Jaguars are coming off a 90-79 loss at Omaha last Thursday (Jan. 10), despite a career-high 22 points and 10 boards from junior Donovan Gibbs and a 20-point night from Sean Esposito.

The Jaguars climbed out of a 12-point second half hole to take a brief 64-63 lead with just more than 10 minutes left at Omaha, but couldn't come up with enough defensive stops down the stretch to get the win. IUPUI trailed by three with under a minute to play and seemed to get a defensive stand, but a loose ball came free to Alex Welhouse underneath the UNO bucket for an easy layup, making it a two possession game. Esposito misfired on a quick three and the host Mavs closed the game with an 8-0 run to skew the final margin.

Gibbs hit 10-of-13 shots for his second career double-double while Esposito was 5-of-10 from three-point range in his second ever 20-point scoring output. Sophomore Jordan Shanklin scored 15 points in his second career start and both Greg Rice and P.J. Hubert scored eight points in the loss. IUPUI was limited to just seven scholarship players in uniform and Hubert and Mitchell Patton teamed to play just 20 minutes off the bench, due to nagging injuries.

Thursday's game will be the 11th meeting all-time between IUPUI and North Dakota State (15-3, 6-0 Summit) with the Jaguars having gone 7-3 in the previous 10 contests. IUPUI has won five of the last six games, including a 74-68 victory in Fargo, N.D. back on Feb. 23 of last season, thanks to 21 points from Alex Young and a double-double from Christian Siakam (10 pts, 11 reb). Marshall Bjorklund led four Bison in double-digits with 17 points.

Bjorklund and fellow junior Taylor Braun have been the key cogs to NDSU's success this season, along with sophomore guard Lawrence Alexander. Braun, a 6-foot-7 swingman, comes in averaging 15.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, but is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks after suffering an injury in the Bison's win over Oakland on Saturday.

Bjorklund is netting 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting better than 72 percent from the field. Alexander, the reigning Summit League Newcomer of the Year, is posting 10.4 points and 4.0 assists a night.

The Bison, who climbed to No. 10 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25 this week, have won seven straight following a 70-57 loss at No. 16/13 Minnesota back on Dec. 11. NDSU's only other losses this season came at then No. 1/1 Indiana and at Green Bay on Nov. 24.

IUPUI's last two defeats were both by razor thin margins. As Western Illinois, IUPUI squandered a second half lead before rallying in the closing seconds to force overtime. At Omaha, IUPUI was within one possession in the final minute before ultimately succumbing in the closing 60 seconds.

Thursday's game is IUPUI's third and final game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season. The Jags knocked off Fort Wayne on Dec. 27 before dropping a contest to Oakland two days later. IUPUI is 8-5 all-time on the Indiana Pacers' home court and 8-4 when serving as the host school. IUPUI has never played North Dakota State at the Fieldhouse.