Box Score I Box Score (.html) I Box Score (.pdf) I Photo Gallery I Video Highlights I Elijah Ray Postgame

INDIANAPOLIS - Down 10 with less than four minutes to go, the IUPUI basketball team scrapped its way back into the game before falling just short to South Dakota, 71-67 inside the Jungle on Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon. The Jaguars used a late flurry of treys to make it a game, but couldn't get over the hump. 

Senior Mitch Patton led three Jaguars in double-digits with 16 points and six boards, while freshman Elijah Ray closed with 12 points and six boards. Sophomore guard Marcellus Barksdale added 10 points and six assists in 40 minutes of action. Big man Trevor Gruis paced the Coyotes with 18 points and six rebounds while Tyler Larson contributed 13 points and five caroms. Tyler Flack (12 points) and Trey Norris (10 points) also finished in double-digits. 

USD (10-15, 4-6 Summit) led 64-54 with 5:34 to play when Karim Rowson got loose for a layup, prompting an IUPUI (6-22, 1-10) timeout. The Jaguars didn't get the game back within single-digits until Ray got loose on the baseline for a two-handed dunk with 3:54 remaining. IUPUI slowly crept closer, getting within six on a pair of Ray free throws after the bruiser grabbed a defensive board with 2:05 left. 

Gruis tried to bury the Jaguars when he hit a spinning 8-footer with the shot clock winding down with 1:35 to play, but IUPUI had one last punch left to throw. It began with a pair of Barksdale free throws with 78 seconds left and was aided by a Casey Kasperbauer missed three at the 42 second mark. On the ensuing possession, Patton nearly had a three-point play opportunity as his layup attempt sat on the front of the rim for seemingly forever, before falling awry. The 6-foot-9 lefty subsequently split the free throws, making it 66-61 with 31 seconds left. 

After USD's Norris hit a pair of foul shots, senior P.J. Hubert gave the Jaguars life by stroking a left wing three off a nifty kickout pass from Barksdale. USD continued to help the Jaguars when Brandon Bos missed the front end of a one-and-one and Ray grabbed the rebound. Barksdale then hit Ray in transition for a wing trey, cutting the USD lead to 68-67 with under 10 seconds to play.

IUPUI immediately fouled Larson and the USD guard connected on both, giving the Jaguars one last chance. After South Dakota called timeout, the Coyotes opted to foul Barksdale as he came off a double screen at the top of the key. The Jaguars' clever guard hoisted the ball in the direction of the rim, but the foul was ruled on the floor with 3.8 seconds to play. Barksdale missed the first and intentionally missed the second, but Larson rebounded to end the suspense. 

USD finished with a 34-26 advantage on the glass and was 14-of-25 (56 percent) in the second half to finish the game at 47 percent. 

Gruis scored 12 of his 18 in the second half and was 8-of-18 from the floor in the victory and helped the Yotes to a 30-24 scoring advantage in the paint.

IUPUI led by as many as six in the first half with senior Donovan Gibbs leading the way. The 6-foot-7 Louisville-native scored all nine of his points before halftime, including a layup just before the final horn to make it 32 all at the break. The Jaguars shot 50 percent in the first half, but struggled against the USD zone in the second half and cooled to 45 percent for the game. The Coyotes zone defense made it hard for Patton to get touches as the veteran hit 5-of-10 shots and blocked a pair of shots.

Hubert and Ray's perimeter shooting helped IUPUI out of the hole, combining to connect on 5-of-8 treys. Hubert, Gibbs and Khufu Najee all finished with nine points in the loss. 

The loss dropped IUPUI to 1-5 all-time against South Dakota as the Jaguars have lost four straight to the Yotes. USD also snapped a six-game Summit League losing streak with Saturday's victory. 

The Jaguars will cap the current three-game homestand next Saturday (Feb. 22) afternoon when they host Fort Wayne in the Jungle for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off. That game will serve as the official kickoff to IUPUI Homecoming Week as there will be a Junior Jaguars pregame event in the Auxiliary Gym, beginning at 1:00 p.m.. Next Saturday's game will be televised on RTV6, HTSN and ESPN3 with Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Bob Lovell (analyst) calling the action.

IUPUI will honor Gibbs, Hubert and Patton prior to Saturday's game.