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INDIANAPOLIS - Summit League preseason favorite North Dakota State put five players in double-digits, led by TrayVonn Wright's career-high 24, en route to an 87-64 win over the Jaguars inside The Jungle on Saturday (Jan. 11) afternoon. The Bison shot nearly 51 percent from the field, hit 8-of-14 treys and turned it over just five times while the Jaguars finished at 43 percent overall.

Junior Marcellus Barksdale and Donovan Gibbs led IUPUI (5-14, 0-2 Summit) with 14 points each and senior center Mitch Patton contributed 11 points and six boards in the loss. 

IUPUI started strong, using a 9-2 run to take an early 19-14 lead, with the bulk of the work coming from Patton and Gibbs in close. Senior #P.J. Hubert# set up three buckets during the run, but NDSU (12-5, 1-1 Summit) sharpshooter Mike Felt answered with back-to-back treys to make it 20-19, prompting a Jaguars' timeout. 

The timeout didn't deter the Bison though as Felt's treys sparked a 15-0 run, capped by layups from Taylor Braun and Marshall Bjorklund. Despite falling behind by double-digits in the first half, IUPUI closed within four at halftime at 35-31 when Khufu Najee hit a tough baseline jumper. 

"Our first half was well played. I thought we outplayed them for 18-plus minutes," IUPUI Head Coach Todd Howard said. "We had a dry run and they capitalized on that and it gave them life at halftime."

The Jaguars got a good start to the second half when Ian Chiles earned a three-point play opportunity on a hard drive in transition, but was unable to convert the freebie, making it a 35-33 score. However, NDSU responded with Braun and Wright threes to extend out to an eight-point lead and never looked back. An 20-5 NDSU run turned the Jaguars' 51-42 deficit into a 24-point game before Elijah Ray stopped the bleeding with his first collegiate trey at the 5:45 mark. By then, the outcome was all but decided.

North Dakota State shot 59.4 percent in the second half and held IUPUI to under 37 percent, leading to a 52-33 scoring differential. 

Braun, the league's Preseason Player of the Year, had 16 points, eight boards and four assists while Bjorklund and Felt tallied 12 each. Sophomore guard Kory Brown added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first-ever double-double. Bjorklund, who ranks among the nation's leaders in field goal shooting, hitting just 5-of-11 shots. 

"To hold Bjorklund to 5-of-11 shooting is unreal. We essentially picked our poison tonight and they capitalized from three-point (range)," Howard said. "When you hold the league's leading scorer below his average and the NCAA career field goal percentage leader to 5-of-11, you think you're in great shape."

Wright was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep and Felt hit 3-of-6 attempts. Braun connected on 2-of-4 tries. 

Gibbs scored half of his 14 at the foul line while Barksdale, who missed the team's shootaround due to illness, hit 5-of-11 field goal attempts and all four of his free throw attempts to pace the Jags. Chiles, the team's top scorer, was held to just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting on his birthday. Hubert tossed in six off the bench and Najee closed with four points and six boards. 

"Marcellus played a heck of a game for being sick all day," Howard said. "Shots didn't fall and they made theirs. 

"It's a simple game."

The loss was the Jaguars' third straight to NDSU and dumped the Jaguars to 4-6 at home this year. 

IUPUI will continue its Summit League slate on Thursday, Jan. 16 when they head west to play the University of South Dakota inside the Dakota Dome at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The game can be heard on WNDE 1260 AM and on the free iHeartRadio app as Will Flemming (pxp) calls the action from courtside. Pregame coverage will begin at approximately 7:50 p.m..