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

DURHAM, N.C. - The IUPUI basketball team will put a capper on the 2014 calendar year and 2014-15 non-conference schedule when the Jaguars take on North Carolina Central (9-5) on Monday night (Dec. 29) inside McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium (3,116) at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. The game will be heard on WNDE 1260 AM as Will Flemming (pxp) is on the call. 

IUPUI (4-9) is seeking its third win in four games, coming off a thrilling 55-53 victory at Pepperdine on Saturday afternoon. Senior DavRon Williams paced the Jaguars with a career-high 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots while freshman Aaron Brennan added 10 points in the victory. Junior Marcellus Barksdale finished with five points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 35 minutes of work. After leading the majority of the contest, IUPUI escaped with a win as Pepperdine missed two chances on the final possession, including a potential game-winning three-point attempt from the right side. The Jaguars' defense shined as IUPUI yielded a season-low 53 points and 36.5 percent shooting to the Waves. The win helped the Jaguars finish this year's Gotham Classic at 2-2 with wins over South Alabama and Pepperdine and road losses at Richmond and Howard. 

IUPUI is 1-0 all-time against NCCU, defeating the Eagles 71-65 in Indianapolis last season to start the home-and-home series. Barksdale led the Jaguars in that contest with 17 points and eight boards. 

QUICK HITTERS
- IUPUI will cap the three-game, cross country road trip on Monday (Dec. 29) when the Jaguars face NC Central (9-5) at 7:00 p.m. in Durham, N.C.. The trip began with the game at Richmond on Dec. 23, followed by the 2,300-mile flight to Los Angeles. The Jaguars then returned back east overnight on Saturday in preparation for Monday's game. 
- IUPUI has had nine different leading already scorers this year. Mason Archie, Marcellus Barksdale, Leo Svete and DavRon Williams are the only Jags to have led the team in scoring in more than once. 
- More than 46 percent of IUPUI's points have come from the bench this season, including a season-high 44-point effort at Purdue. All total, IUPUI has 11 players averaging between 2-9 points per game. 
- IUPUI senior DavRon Williams transferred to IUPUI from NCCU, playing 21 games (five starts) for LeVelle Moton and the Eagles in 2012-13. That year, he averaged 1.6 points and 2.0 boards per game in just under eight minutes a night.  
- Today's game is the second-ever meeting between IUPUI and NC Central on the hardwood.
- This marks the 43rd season of IUPUI basketball, beginning with the 1972 campaign.
- IUPUI will play every home game at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum this season in year one of a five-year pact. IUPUI last played home games at the Coliseum from 1975-79. The building was home to the Indiana Pacers from 1967-74.  
- More than half of IUPUI's 13-man roster is newcomers this year. All total, the Jaguars welcome seven new faces this year with four Division I transfers and three true freshmen.   

FIVE COUNT - QUICK TIDBITS FROM THE LAST GAME
IUPUI 55, Pepperdine 53 - Dec. 27 - Malibu, Calif. (Firestone Fieldhouse)
JAGS GET DEFENSIVE
    It was the Jaguars' defense that fueled Saturday's win over Pepperdine, as IUPUI held the Waves to 53 points - the fewest by an IUPUI foe this season. In addition, Pepperdine's 36.5 percent shooting from the field (19-of-52) was the lowest by an opponent this year. 

WILLIAMS' CAREER NIGHT
    Senior DavRon Williams turned in his best game of the season, tallying a career-high 16 points (6-10 FG, 4-5 FT). He just missed a double-double by grabbing nine boards (eight defensive) and swatting a career-high three shots in 27 minutes of action. 

MARCELLUS DOES IT ALL
    Not to be overshadowed by Williams' effort, junior Marcellus Barksdale had a strong all-around floor game, leading the Jags at both ends. The 6-foot-5 guard turned in five points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals, while playing a team-high 35 minutes. Most importantly, Barksdale committed just one turnover from his guard spot. 

LIMITING THE TURNOVERS
    For just the third time this season, IUPUI had more assists (14) than turnovers (11) on Saturday. IUPUI is 2-1 in those contests and has turned it over just 21 times in the past two games. 

CAPPING THE GOTHAM
    IUPUI finished the Gotham Classic at 2-2 overall with wins against South Alabama and at Pepperdine and road losses at Howard and Richmond. In the four games, IUPUI averaged just 56.5 points in the four games while allowing just 58 points per contest. 
    Of the four games, three were decided by six points or less, capped by the two-point win at Pepperdine.

UNCOMMON BALANCE
    Eleven different IUPUI players are averaging between two and 9 points per game through 13 games, led by Marcellus Barksdale's 8.7 points per game. IUPUI has already had nine different leading scorers (including ties). P.J. Boutte, Marcellus Barksdale, Leo Svete, D.J. McCall, DavRon Williams, Jalen McCallum, Elijah Ray, Mason Archie and Aaron Brennan have each led the squad in scoring in a game thus far. 
    IUPUI has nine players averaging at least 14 minutes and 10 players playing double-digit minutes. 

LOW LEADER
    Barksdale's 8.7 points per game scoring average would easily be the lowest total to lead the Jaguars in a single-season in program history. The lowest scoring output to lead the Jaguars in a season is 12.4 points per game by Charles Price in 2001-02. 

HITTING 70
    IUPUI is 3-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points and 1-9 when failing to reach that number. 

THE LAST TIME...
    IUPUI played North Carolina Central, it was Marcellus Barksdale who helped lead the Jaguars to a 71-65 win. Barksdale scored a team-high 17 points (4-8 FG, 9-11 FT) and added eight boards, three assists and three steals in just 29 minutes. 
    The only other IUPUI returners to have appeared in last year's game are Justus Stanback (6 pts, 5 reb, 2-7 FG) and Khufu Najee (2 pts, 3 ast, 4 TO).

45 STRAIGHT
    Junior Marcellus Barksdale has now started 45 straight games, dating back to the 2012-13 season opener. No other IUPUI player has started more than 13 straight games. Barksdale and Mason Archie are the only two Jags to start every game this season. 

MR. INDISPENSABLE
    While Gardner has shown a deep and versatile bench, the one constant for the Jaguars this season is junior guard Marcellus Barksdale. The 6-foot-5 veteran is playing more than 33 minutes per game (almost six more than his closest competitor), ranking among the league's top players. Barksdale leads the team in scoring (8.7 ppg), free throws made (36) and steals (28) and is second in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists (2.5 apg).

BENCH PRODUCTION
    Through 13 games, IUPUI's bench has scored 360 of the team's 782 points, equivalent to 46 percent of the team's scoring. The IUPUI bench has outscored the opposition in 11 of the season's 13 games.

KHUFU'S BACK
    Senior guard Khufu Najee has been back for two games now and made an instant impact on the Jaguars' attack. The Berkeley, Calif.-native is averaging 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game and more impressive is his 16.2 points per 40 minutes since his return. 
 

The full IUPUI Game Notes can be seen by clicking here