INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team suffered one of its worst shooting nights of the season while allowing Fort Wayne to hit 51 percent, dropping a 69-54 count to the Mastodons inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Wednesday night (Feb. 11). The Jags shot just 35 percent overall and 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from three-point range in dropping its fourth straight game. 

Fort Wayne (14-11, 7-5 Summit) won for the sixth straight time as the two teams split the regular season series. Indianapolis-native Max Landis and Joe Edwards paced IPFW with 14 points each while Steve Forbes chipped in 12 points, six boards and six blocked shots up front. Another Indianapolis-native, Mo Evans, also finished in double-digits with 11 points. 

Senior DavRon Williams contributed 14 points and six rebounds off the IUPUI (8-17, 4-7) bench and classmate Khufu Najee tossed in 11 points in the loss. Junior Mason Archie, II added 10 points to round out the Jaguars' double-digit scorers. 

"We just didn't hit shots, that was it," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "That was the game. I thought we got some open looks, but we didn't knock them down. Even when we got (defensive) stops, we didn't back them up with baskets and so it was hard to put a run together. Teams are daring us to make shots and we're not doing it. 

"I thought we played hard and I thought we played tough, but it came down to making shots. We fought, we rebounded and we didn't turn it over, but you can't shoot 35 percent and expect to win."

It was a war of attrition early as both sides limped out of the gates offensively. IUPUI scored the game's first four points, but Fort Wayne rattled off a 7-0 run to break an 11-11 tie to seize control early. Evans started the run with a trey and Forbes followed with a two-handed jam. After a second consecutive errant IUPUI three-point attempt, Joe Reed got loose on the baseline for an easy reverse layup. The visiting Mastodons led by as many as 13 before halftime before the Jaguars scored the final four points of the stanza to trail by nine at the break.

Junior Marcellus Barksdale drilled a short pull-up and Josh James scored in close to make it 32-23 by halftime. 

Gardner preached to his team to win the first segment of the second half, but his Jaguars did just the opposite. A quick 7-0 burst turned the nine-point deficit into a 16-point abyss from which the Jaguars would never surface. The hosts closed within nine on an Elijah Ray trey with 10:11 to play and had a look to make it a two-possession game. After a solid defensive stand, Leo Svete got a clean look at a corner three, but back rimmed the attempt. Less than 30 seconds later, Edwards drilled a similar corner three to silence the Jaguar faithful and squash any momentum. 

"We gave them a lot of open looks and they knocked them down," Gardner said. "We lost some of their shooters and they made us pay. That's what good teams do to you."

After starting 3-of-13 from the field, IPFW finished the first half by hitting 11-of-15 shots and remained hot, shooting 52 percent after halftime. Forbes was 6-of-7 and Edwards hit 5-of-9 shots, including two triples. Williams, The Summit League leader in field goal percentage at 57 percent, was 7-of-9 from the floor and finished two points shy of tying his career-high of 16 points. The rest of the Jaguars shot a combined 14-of-51 (27.4 percent). 

Three IUPUI players grabbed a team-high six boards as the hosts won the glass, 36-33. IUPUI held the 'Dons to just five offensive rebounds and two second chance points while scoring 12 second chance points, thanks to 14 offensive rebounds. 

Archie and Boutte both delivered a team-high three assists, but combined to shoot 2-of-14 from the field and 2-of-10 from long range. 

IUPUI will hit the road for three consecutive games, beginning with a Saturday (Feb. 14) tilt at Denver. Tipoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. Eastern from Magness Arena and the contest will be heard on WNDE 1260 AM and the free iHeartRadio app as Will Flemming (pxp) is on the call. Pregame coverage will begin at approximately 5:45.