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

INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will continue its three-game homestand on Saturday (Nov. 16) when the Jaguars host Southeast Missouri inside the Jungle at 1:00 p.m.. The game can be heard on WNDE 1260 AM and on the free iHeartRadio app as Scott McCauley (pxp) is on the call. Free rally towels will be distributed to fans in attendance, while supplies last.  

IUPUI (0-2) is coming off a tough 84-78 loss to Evansville on Tuesday (Nov. 12), despite a career-high 28-point effort from junior guard Ian Chiles. Chiles hit 11-of-21 shots, including 4-of-10 from three, but the Jaguars were unable to fend off the Purple Aces in the game's final five minutes. IUPUI climbed out of a 12-point hole to take a one-point lead on a Khufu Najee layup at the 5:07 mark, but UE used a late 7-0 run, capped by a Blake Simmons wing three as the shot clock expired to claim the win. 

The game was essentially won at the free throw line as Evansville hit 28-of-31 (90.3 percent) attempts, including all 17 second half tries. IUPUI was just 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) and 7-of-14 in the second half. Sophomore guard D.J. Balentine matched his career-high with 29 points for the Aces, including going a perfect 12-of-12 from the stripe. 

Najee scored 19 points in his second game in an IUPUI uniform and Donovan Gibbs chipped in 18 points and a game-high nine boards. Freshman Justus Stanback, starting in place of an injured Mitch Patton, had six points, four rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes work. Sophomore guard Marcellus Barksdale rounded out the starting five with three points and a career-high seven rebounds.

IUPUI shot an efficient 49.2 percent from the floor and turned the ball over just six times, leading to a 17-4 advantage in points off turnovers. 

Through two games, both Patton (26.0 ppg) and Chiles (21.0 ppg) boast gaudy scoring averages while Gibbs leads the team with 13 rebounds. Both Gibbs (13.0 ppg) and Najee (10.5 ppg) are also averaging double-digits while Barksdale has a team-high six assists. 

It's worth noting that the NCAA's new emphasis on limiting physical play and impeding ball handlers has had a major effect on the Jaguars' statistically thus far. A year ago through two games, IUPUI had been whistled for just 25 fouls and awarded 12 free throws total. This season, the Jaguars have been hit with 44 personal fouls and gotten to the foul line 50 times. 

SEMO (1-1) is coming off an emphatic 118-56 home win over Central Baptist after starting the year with an 87-64 loss at Saint Louis. Junior Jarekious Bradley leads the Redhawks in scoring (21.5 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg), blocked shots (4) and has seven steals in the season's early going. SEMO has collected 27 steals in the season's first two games with Jamaal Calvin leading the squad with eight. Head Coach Dickey Nutt's squad went 17-16 a year ago before ultimately losing to Eastern Kentucky in the Ohio Valley Conference Quarterfinals round. 

Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools and the first of two meetings scheduled this season. The Jaguars will make a return trip to Cape Girardeau, Mo., on Dec. 23. 

Adult reserved tickets are just $10 and are half priced on Saturday with the donation of a non-persihable item to "Jam the Jaguars Pantry" canned food drive as part of The Summit League's annual "Food Fight". In conjunction with the game, the IUPUI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has partnered with nearby City Barbecue to donate 25 percent of Saturday's proceeds towards the "Food Fight" initiative to fans who present a certificate (download here). In addition, the IUPUI SAAC has requested that fans who use the certificates use the hashtag #bbqthejag to Tweet about their experience on Saturday.