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FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IUPUI basketball team will cap a three-game stretch away from home when the Jaguars head up I-69 to take on Fort Wayne (15-6, 3-1 Summit) inside Gates Sports Center at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. The game can be heard in Central Indiana on WNDE 1260 AM and on the free iHeartRadio app as Will Flemming (pxp) calls the action from courtside on Saturday. 

IUPUI (5-16, 0-4) hopes to snap a four-game skid to start Summit League play and both teams will benefit from a full week of preparation after road losses last Saturday. The Jaguars dropped a 66-45 decision at league newcomer Denver last weekend, while IPFW fell at South Dakota. 

The Jaguars scored a season-low 45 points in the Denver defeat, despite getting 19 from senior center Mitch Patton. Patton and Donovan Gibbs teamed to hit 11-of-15 shots, but the rest of the squad connected on just 5-of-29 attempts in the loss. The Jaguars roared out to an 11-4 advantage, but saw the host Pioneers rattle off a 21-0 run to take control of the contest before intermission. Denver shot 48 percent overall and 47 percent from three-point range, while using 12 IUPUI turnovers to cash in on an 18-6 scoring margin in points off turnovers. Chris Udofia paced DU with 16 points, eight boards and six assists in the win. 

IUPUI and IPFW will hook up for the 40th time on Saturday, with the Jaguars owning a decisive 27-12 lead in the series. The two sides hooked up in a pair of barn burners last season with the Jaguars winning 88-74 inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Dec. 27 before dropping an 80-79 overtime affair on the road on Jan. 26. In the home win, IUPUI trailed 70-63 with 7:08 to play, but closed the game on a 25-4 run, fueled largely by Greg Rice and John Hart. Hart scored 26 points to lead the Jaguars in that win. 

In Fort Wayne, IUPUI led by two with 18 seconds left in overtime after Rice collected a steal and fast break layup, but the Mastodons performed a miracle to steal the win. Joe Edwards drew a foul with eight seconds left and hit the first free throw before proceeding to miss the second. The board came free to Edwards, who dropped a pass to Frank Gaines, who was fouled going up for the game-winner with three seconds left. The senior lefty hit both free throws and Rice missed a desperation three at the horn, giving the 'Dons the win. 

All total, six of the last nine meetings between the two schools have been decided by five points or fewer. 

This year's Jaguars' have struggled offensively to start Summit League play, but still boast the league's third-leading scorer in junior guard Ian Chiles (15.9 ppg) and one of the league's top interior options in Patton (12.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg). The most versatile player on the roster has easily been sophomore Marcellus Barksdale. The 6-foot-5 guard ranks second in The Summit in rebounding at 7.2 rpg, while also posting 8.8 points and 3.5 assists per game. The Lexington, Ky.-native is hitting 78.6 percent at the foul line, ranking 10th in The Summit in that category, while also leading the squad in blocked shots (23) and steals (23). 

IPFW has been dominating offensively, scoring nearly 78 points per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the floor and 40.1 percent from three-point range. Their balanced attack is led by senior forward Luis Jacobo (14.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg), junior center Steve Forbes (11.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and freshman guard Mo Evans (10.3 ppg, 38 3's). Evans is one of three 'Dons to have hit more than 30 triples this season and is connecting at a 48.7 percent clip. Forbes is shooting 65.9 percent from the field while playing just 21 minutes per game. Backup forward/center Joe Reed checks in with 8.1 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game off the bench. 

IPFW boasts wins over Eastern Illinois, Dartmouth, Bradley and Bowling Green this year and is a perfect 2-0 at home in Summit League play. The Mastodons also had near misses in a one-point loss at Dayton and a two-point loss at Illinois.