ATLANTA - Missed free throws and turnovers proved costly as the Jaguars came up on the short end of a 78-72 overtime decision to former boss Ron Hunter's Georgia State team at the GSU Sports Arena on Friday night (Nov. 27). IUPUI frittered away a five-point lead in the final minute as GSU's Isaiah Williams made two foul shots with 1.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

Georgia State outscored the Jaguars 11-5 in the extra period to claim a tenth consecutive home victory. 

IUPUI (2-5) got a career-high 19 points from sophomore Jordan Pickett off the bench and 16 points and four steals from junior Darell Combs in the loss. Senior Marcellus Barksdale scored a season-high 13 points, including a key go-ahead trey with 1:18 left in regulation. Indiana-native Jeremy Hollowell and Louisville-transfer Kevin Ware led GSU (3-1) with 18 points each and Williams, a sophomore, closed with 13 points. 

"I thought we did a lot of good things tonight, we just didn't finish it off," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "We're still trying to figure out how to close out games and that's part of the process. (Georgia State) was a team that went to the NCAA Tournament last year and they understand how to close out games. We're not there yet, but we're getting closer.

"I liked our spacing and our ball movement and that led to us knocking down some shots. Our chemistry was better and everyone was looking to make the extra pass. I really didn't think their zone bothered us that much. It slowed us down some, but we still got pretty good looks."

IUPUI led 33-32 at the half, but saw Georgia State open the second half with a 14-2 run to take a 46-35 lead with 13:53 to play. However, IUPUI pulled even at 54 all with 5:18 to play on a Barksdale three-point play, setting up the nip-and-tuck finish.

Williams knocked in a trey to give GSU a 59-56 lead with 2:47 left, but Mason Archie answered by rattling in a corner triple off a nice baseline pass from Barksdale. The Jags then got a key stop when Pickett picked Ware's pocket, setting the table for Barksdale's go-ahead connection with 79 seconds remaining. The Jaguars got another stop when Barksdale collected a steal, prompting GSU to foul freshman T.J. Henderson.

Henderson swished both with 39 seconds left, giving IUPUI a two-possession lead. The Jaguars went on to miss 3-of-6 foul shots in the final 32 seconds and yielded six GSU points, capped by Williams' two foul shots with 1.2 seconds left. Junior Nick Osborne had a contested 40-footer at the final horn fall shot, leading to overtime.

"We got the right guys to the line. If you would've told me that Matt, Cellus and Darell would be the guys at the line down the stretch trying to win the game, I would've told you we'd be fine. Those are the guys we depend on," Gardner said.

Combs staked IUPUI to a 69-67 lead on the first possession of overtime with a gorgeous scoop, but Hollowell answered with a three-point play and the hosts led for the final four minutes of the contest. IUPUI missed three chances to retake the lead, but sandwiched turnovers around a Combs missed triple before Markus Crider put the Panthers ahead 72-69 with a putback with 1:54 left.

IUPUI got within two on a Combs layup with 39 seconds left, but Georgia State made all four free throw attempts in the final 28 seconds to ice the win.

The Jaguars shot 45 percent overall and 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from three-point range as 41 of the team's 72 points came from the bench. IUPUI also forced 22 GSU turnovers and limited the Panthers to just four offensive boards. However, GSU shot 57 percent overall, fueled by Ware's 7-of-10 shooting performance.

IUPUI will now return home to prepare for a fourth straight road contest as the Jaguars are scheduled to play at Ball State on Tuesday night (Dec. 1) at 7:00 p.m. at Worthen Arena. That contest will be aired on ESPN3 and broadcast in the Indianapolis-area on 107.5 FM as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call.