INDIANAPOLIS - Despite outmuscling and outrebounding one of The Summit League's top teams, IUPUI fell short against South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7), dropping a 63-56 decision inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Timely errors proved to be costly for the Jags, who committed 20 turnovers and were whistled for 25 fouls in the defeat. IUPUI's 20 turnovers led to 21 SDSU points, while the Jackrabbits outscored IUPUI 19-11 at the foul line. 

The loss was IUPUI's third straight, including two on its home floor. 

Cody Larson led three Jackrabbits in double-digits with 16 points and George Marshall contributed 15 points and eight boards in the win. Junior Marcellus Barksdale notched his fourth career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Justus Stanback also tossed in 10 points.

"I thought we played hard and competed," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "We just had too many turnovers and way too many silly fouls to beat a good team like South Dakota State. We gave them seven more possessions on turnovers alone and that's really hard to overcome against a good team. 

"I thought we dug in, we fought, we rebounded and we defended, but you can't make that many turnovers and expect to win."

After trailing by six at the break, IUPUI closed within two points on 10 different occasions in the second half, but never overtook the Jacks in the second half. IUPUI (8-16, 4-6 Summit) was down eight with under five minutes to play, but clawed back to make it a game in the closing minutes. Barksdale swished a contested trey from the corner to make it 57-53 with 3:25 left. After a defensive stand, IUPUI cut it back to two when Khufu Najee knocked in a pair of free throws at the 2:42 mark.

IUPUI came up with a second key defensive stop when Deondre Parks missed a contested jumper at the end of the shot clock, but the Jaguars gave it right back on an unforced backcourt violation with two minutes left. After a third straight stop, Barksdale missed a potential game-tying leaner in the paint and was then called for a foul at the other end, helping SDSU push back to a four-point lead. 

Barksdale split a pair of free throws with 57 seconds to play to make it a one-possession game and the Jaguars came up with yet another stop in the final minute when DavRon Williams collected a steal. On the ensuing possession, Najee came up short on a potential game-tying trey and a long rebound led to an SDSU fast break. Reed Tellinghuisen scored a layup in transition with 12.6 seconds to play to end the Jaguars' upset bid. 

Frustration boiled over for the Jags in the final minute as Barksdale was called for a technical foul with 3.8 seconds left. 

"As a leader of our team, I think he had done a good job of not letting his emotions get the better of him until that point," Gardner said. "He thought he got fouled (on a three-point attempt) and the official didn't. He was just frustrated and I think a lot of us were frustrated."

IUPUI got the start it wanted, building an early 17-10 lead in the opening 11 minutes. However, SDSU outscored the Jaguars 27-4 over the final eight-plus minutes of the first half to take a 29-23 lead. Marshall scored nine of his 15 points before halftime, all from behind the three-point line. IUPUI threw the first punch of the second half with a Barksdale drive and Stanback jumper, but as was the case over and over again for the second half, SDSU refused to relinquish the lead. 

South Dakota State shot 44 percent overall and hit 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range to knock off the Jaguars for the 11th straight time. More importantly, the Jackrabbits made 76 percent at the free throw line, while IUPUI made just 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) attempts. 

IUPUI dominated the glass 38-22 and 12-2 off the offensive glass. The Jackrabbits were held without a second chance point while IUPUI scored 11 points off its own misses. Sophomore Elijah Ray had eight points and five boards in just 10 minutes off the bench while Stanback collected four rebounds. All total, six different Jaguars grabbed at least three caroms. 

IUPUI will cap the three-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 11 when the Jaguars host Fort Wayne inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.. The game will be televised on HTSN and ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Bob Lovell (analyst) call the action from courtside. In addition, the game can be heard on WNDE 1260 AM as Will Flemming (pxp) describes the action over the airwaves. As part of IUPUI Alumni Night, all IUPUI alum can purchase $10 tickets by using the code ALUMNI when purchasing through Ticketmaster. The first 500 students in attendance will receive a coupon for FREE popcorn, courtesy of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the IUPUI Athletics Department will celebrate Favorite Professor Night, recognizing faculty and staffers from across campus. In addition, the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship trophy will be on display and Indy Eleven standout and former IUPUI star Kyle Hyland will serve as honorary team captain. 

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