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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State senior Manny Arop scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and the host Sycamores shot 55.6 percent overall and 46 percent from three en route to an 81-61 win over the Jaguars inside the Hulman Center on Saturday (Dec. 21) afternoon. 

Sophomore Marcellus Barksdale led three Jags in double-figures with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and senior center Mitch Patton chimed in with 15 points in 39 minutes. Junior guard Ian Chiles hit for double-digits for the 15th straight game, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting. For Barksdale, it was his second career double-double, both coming within the past week. 

"Marcellus and Mitch were unreal," IUPUI Head Coach Todd Howard said. "They showed outstanding poise to play through all they played through. A tough venue tested us the first and last four minutes. Their studs were just too much."

The loss was the third straight for IUPUI (4-10) while Indiana State (8-3) remained undefeated at home for the year. 

Indiana State erupted to an early 25-7 lead, connecting on its first nine field goal attempts of the contest. By the time the Sycamores finally missed a shot, the Jaguars' were in what proved to be an insurmountable hole. However, with Patton and Barksdale leading the charge, the Jaguars began chipping away, immediately mounting an 8-0 run to prompt an ISU timeout. Justin Gant broke the run with a three-point play in close. 

"That was a tough start to hand an incredibly tough team," Howard said. "When a top tier opponent hits their first eight shots, you have a lot of ground to make up."

The 6-foot-5 Barksdale continued to assert himself offensively in the first half, cutting the Indiana State lead to 33-28 on a drive at the 4:38 mark. He was able to bull his way past ISU's guards, either working free for layups or earning trips to the line. 

ISU ultimately took a 39-32 advantage to the break. 

The Jaguars opted to feed their 6-foot-9 lefty in Patton to start the second half and the Vincennes, Ind.-native was up to the challenge, scoring six straight to cut the lead to 41-38 less than three minutes in. However, every time IUPUI needed a defensive stand, Arop or another Sycamore had other ideas. 

Arop swished a three to make it 54-48 near the midpoint of the second half, stopping IUPUI's momentum. Later after P.J. Hubert drilled a corner three, Gant, Jake Odum and Arop scored six points in succession, pushing the ISU lead out to 10. 

"I'm incredibly proud of the guys, slicing it to a one possession game," Howard said. "At that time, we missed some really good looks. 

"Fatigue cooled us off and foul trouble with Marcellus was a tough hill to climb."

IUPUI had one last rally when Patton split a pair of free throws and Donovan Gibbs tracked down the second miss. After maintaining possession, Chiles sliced down the lane for a layup with 3:52 to play. However, IUPUI would go scoreless the rest of the day and Indiana State would close the game on a 10-0 run, including a pair of breakout dunks to punctuate the win. 

IUPUI finished shooting 41.1 percent from the floor and 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) from three-point range. The Jaguars also lost the glass, 37-29, as IUPUI utilized a four-guard lineup for much of the game. Given the size advantage, ISU outscored the Jaguars 40-28 in the paint. 

Barksdale was 5-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-11 from the foul line, falling one point shy of matching his career-high. 

Arop connected on 4-of-5 from downtown and Gant scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, primarily on midrange jumpers and post moves. Odum, ISU's leader in points, rebounds and assists coming in, closed with nine points, seven assists and four boards. 

With the win, ISU improved to 4-2 all-time against the Jaguars and 3-0 in the three meetings in Terre Haute. 

IUPUI will continue the two-game pre-Christmas road trip on Monday (Dec. 23) when the Jaguars take on Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo., at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The game can be heard on WNDE 1260 AM and on the free iHeartRadio app available on smartphones. Will Flemming (pxp) will be on the call from courtside at the Show Me Center (7,000). SEMO won a previous meeting between the two schools this year, defeating the Jaguars in Indy on Nov. 16, 76-68.