RALEIGH, N.C. - IUPUI got off to a slow start on the road against NC State and was never able to fully catch the Wolfpack as the Jaguars fell victim on the road at PNC Arena, 79-56. Junior Matt O'Leary scored a career-high 17 points in the loss and senior Mason Archie added 11. 

Anthony Barber led four NC State (2-1) players in double-digits with 19 points and Caleb Martin and Maverick Rowan tossed in 15 each. Abdul-Malik Abu finished with 14 points and grabbed a game-high nine boards. 

The Pack opened the game with a 10-2 run, but IUPUI was able to close within five late in the half, capped by a pair of O'Leary treys. Junior Darell Combs energized the guests with a one-handed jam and then set up both O'Leary triples with dribble penetration, prompting an NC State timeout with 5:11 left before halftime. The hosts responded, closing the half with an 8-2 run to take a 38-27 lead to the break. 

"I thought we scrapped and clawed and fought tonight and that's all you can ask," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "It's been a tough three-game stretch for us and a lot of travel already, but I was happy with how we played tonight. We were a little shaky at the beginning, but I thought our veteran guys, guys like Matt and Mason, helped settle us down. We never really got into a great flow of the game and that made it hard for us to make a run. 

"All in all though, I liked a lot of things we did tonight."

The other hindrance for the Jaguars on Wednesday night was the almighty whistle. IUPUI (1-2) was called for 34 fouls, leading to 39 NC State free throws, while the hosts were called for just 17 fouls, yielding 11 Jaguar foul shots. Seven different IUPUI players finished with at least four fouls and T.J. Henderson, Evan Hall and Marcellus Barksdale all earned early exits. 

"We put our hands on them a little too much," Gardner said. "We'll look at it on film and work on it in practice, but we've got to do a better job of moving our feet and getting in better position defensively."

NC State outscored the Jaguars 7-0 from the line in the first half and left nine more points at the stripe on misses. 

The Jaguars scored the first three points of the second half to close within eight at 38-30, but NC State used a modest 9-2 burst to take a double-digit lead for virtually the remainder of the contest. IUPUI got within nine twice near the midpoint of the second half, the second time coming when O'Leary buried a 25-footer from the top of the key with 8:25 to play. However, NC State closed the game by outscoring IUPUI 20-6 over the final 7:51 to seal the victory. 

"I thought we got a little tired and a little careless late in the game," Gardner said. "We were definitely tired. This is three games in a row, all on the road in a pretty short span. We're looking forward to getting home and playing on our home floor."

Henderson had his most impressive showing of the young season, contributing seven points and three assists off the bench while Combs was limited to five points and five assists on a 1-of-11 shooting night. IUPUI finished the game shooting just 33 percent from the floor, despite knocking down a respectable 9-of-25 (36 percent) from three-point range. O'Leary hit 4-of-8 triples and Archie was 3-of-8 from deep. 

NC State shot 41 percent overall and outscored the Jaguars 32-12 in the paint, largely aided by 20 offensive rebounds. Five different Wolfpack players grabbed at least two offensive boards in the win. 

IUPUI will now return home for the first time in the 2015-16 season to host Kentucky State at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 21). As part of The Summit League food fight, fans who bring a non-perishable canned good to the game will receive $5 off the price of their ticket and food collected will benefit Gleaners Food Bank. IUPUI students will have an opportunity to win Beats by Dre headphones as part of Beatz Dance Night and Saturday's game will also include a postgame on-court layup line and player autograph opportunities as part of Youth Night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. 

Saturday's game will be televised on HTSN and ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action from courtside. In addition, it will mark the first broadcast on 107.5 FM as part of a new radio partnership for the 2015-16 season as Morgan Adcock (pxp) will be on the call.