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INDIANAPOLIS - Senior DavRon Williams had 18 points and 10 boards and junior Marcellus Barksdale contributed 16 points, nine boards and five steals as the IUPUI basketball team opened exhibition play with an 80-60 win over IU South Bend inside the Fairgrounds Coliseum on Wednesday night (Nov. 5). Sophomore forward Josh James also finished in double-digits, chipping in 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for the Jaguars. 

IUPUI shot nearly 52 percent from the floor and held the visiting Titans to just 35.6 percent overall and 9-of-38 (23.7 percent) from three-point range in the win. The Jaguars made hay up front, outrebounding IUSB 47-24 and 17-10 off the offensive glass.

"I thought the players played hard and I thought we moved the ball a lot better," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "Our execution wasn't all that great today, but overall, I was pleased with the effort of the players.

"We had too many turnovers. A lot of it too was kind of careless turnovers. Sometimes I think it was kind of us overthinking."

Leading by just two nearly eight minutes in, the Jaguars began to seize control of the contest in the middle of the first half, beginning with a Leo Svete three at the 10:26 mark. Barksdale followed with a steal near midcourt and raced the other way for a one-handed dunk. The Jaguars led by as many as 11 in the first half before taking a 37-28 lead to the break. 

The second half began with Williams getting back-to-back buckets, the second of which was a two-handed flush in transition. IUPUI led by double-digits the final 19-plus minutes of the game, including pushing out to a 23-point lead at 68-45 with 5:44 left. The Jags scored four straight layups to account for an 8-0 run, putting the game away. 

Gardner played 10 different players at least 13 minutes and all 11 players that played, scored at least two points. No IUPUI player played more than Barksdale's 29 minutes on Wednesday. The Jaguars' bench scored 39 of the team's 80 points with Svete tallying nine and D.J. McCall contributing six points and six boards. 

"We've got to improve on quite a few things," Gardner said. "I think our execution has to get better. I think we've got to rebound better but overall, our guys are working extremely hard in practice."

T.J. Benner led IUSB with 18 points on 4-of-10 shooting and Oosha Mitchell added 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. After making six first half treys, IUSB made just 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) attempts in the second half. 

IUPUI will now open the regular season against in-state rival Indiana State on Friday, Nov. 14 at 8:00 p.m.. That game will follow the women's game with the University of Louisville at 5:00 p.m. and will be heard on WNDE 1260 AM, WNDE.com and the iHeartRadio app. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, the Fairgrounds box office or by clicking here.