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MACOMB, Ill. - Sophomore Lyonell Gaines hit a driving layup in the closing seconds of regulation, but Summit League leader Western Illinois outscored the Jaguars 12-8 in overtime to claim a 57-53 win over IUPUI inside Western Hall on Saturday (Jan. 5) night. Senior John Hart led three Jags in double-digits with 14 points and Sean Esposito and Greg Rice scored 11 and 10, respectively, in the loss.

WIU's Ceola Clark III scored a game-high 16 points and Terell Parks added 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots as Western Illinois (12-3, 5-0 Summit) remained undefeated at home and in Summit League play this season.

"This was a tough, hard fought game," IUPUI head coach Todd Howard said. "I'm proud of our resiliency. No one on the planet can fathom all of the adversity we have faced, but our guys battled. WIU is the hottest team in our league, winning eight in a row before tonight. We outplayed them for most of tonight, but the start of the second half doomed us."

IUPUI (6-13, 1-4 Summit) used hot perimeter shooting to dominate the majority of the first half including an early 13-0 run that put the Jaguars in front 17-7 exactly 10 minutes into the contest. The Jaguars hit 7-of-11 first half three point attempts, capped by Esposito's connection with 39 seconds left that ended the opening 20 minutes with IUPUI leading, 28-16.

As expected, WIU muddied the game, controlled the tempo and locked in defensively to creep back into the contest right at the beginning of the second half. An 11-2 rally to start the second stanza made it a one-possession game, where it stayed almost exclusively for the final 20 minutes of the night. Clark put the hosts in front 37-36 with 10:02 left in regulation when he swished one of his four treys, but IUPUI immediately answered with a Donovan Gibbs 15-footer to regain the lead.

Two trips later, WIU's Don McAvoy stroked a wide open three from the left corner to pull his team in front 40-38, but Greg Rice tied the score at 40 all with six minutes left when he floated in a teardrop over Parks' outstretched arm. Esposito hit his third trey to put the guests ahead 43-40 with 4:38 left, but Clark tied the game again with just under four minutes left.

As it was much of the night, it was tough sledding for both sides offensively over the final four minutes as both teams went without a field goal over the next three minutes. Adam Link put WIU in front 45-43 with 28 seconds left when he muscled in a 10-foot jumper off a kickout pass from Parks. After an IUPUI timeout, Hart was fouled trying to split two defenders, giving the Jaguars the ball underneath their own basket with just six seconds left.

Rice used nearly the entire five seconds before he delivered nifty bounce pass to a cutting Gaines, who scored his first field goal of the night to tie the score with three seconds left in regulation. Clark missed a wild three as time expired, sending the game to overtime.

"I liked our character and execution to tie the game with six seconds left," Howard.

WIU scored six of the overtime period's first eight points before Hart cut the lead back to two on a fadeaway 19-footer that was originally ruled a three. After a review, the officials switched the basket to a two. IUPUI had a chance to tie the game after Rice came up with a steal, but Parks rejected an Esposito drive with 1:38 to play and Clark converted a pair of free throws at the other end to make it a two possession game.

The Jaguars pulled back within two on two Esposito freebies with 46 seconds left, but Remy Roberts-Burnett countered with a floater with 29 seconds left to help put IUPUI away. Hart missed the second of two free throws with 14 seconds left and Link corralled the rebound after it was tipped high into the air, leading to Indiana-native Jack Houpt hitting a pair of free throws to ice the game.

"It was a tough foul call in overtime that sent their all-league player to the line," Howard said. "He missed and we rebounded with a chance to tie, but a foul was called. That was huge."

IUPUI had 16 assists on 20 baskets, but shot just 37 percent from the floor and was a paltry 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from the free throw line. After hitting 7-of-11 first half triples, IUPUI was just 1-of-6 after halftime to finish at 47.1 percent.

"Sixteen assists on 20 baskets is almost machine-like," Howard said. "I really liked the way we shared the ball and looked to make the extra pass to the open shooter."

Western's 37.9 percent shooting effort was the lowest by an IUPUI Division I foe since Southern Utah hit just 35.8 percent in Cedar City on Feb. 11 of last season. The Leathernecks were 6-of-15 (40 percent) from three-point range and hit 7-of-8 free throws.

Gaines finished with six points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Jaguars, but he and Gibbs combined to hit just 4-of-14 field goal attempts. Junior center Mitchell Patton provided a lift off the bench, contributing six points and three assists in 19 minutes work.

Link had 10 points and six boards and Houpt grabbed 11 caroms as WIU won the glass, 40-35. WIU took advantage of IUPUI's guard dominated lineup by outscoring the Jaguars 24-12 in the paint.

Saturday's loss was IUPUI's second straight to WIU after having won 26 of 28 meetings between the two schools. The Jaguars lost at Western Hall last season on a Roberts-Burnett three-pointer at the buzzer.

IUPUI will continue Summit League action next Thursday (Jan. 10) night when the Jaguars take on league newcomer Omaha inside Ralston Arena at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.