FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Senior Marcellus Barksdale took advantage of a broken play and dropped in a left-handed layup as time expired to cap a wild 84-82 road victory of league leader Fort Wayne. Junior Darell Combs scored a team-high 20 points and junior Nick Osborne chipped in a career-high 19 points off the bench for the Jaguars.

IUPUI (9-13, 5-2 Summit) led by as many as 17 in the second half, but was deadlocked in an 82 all tie with just 22 seconds left when Head Coach Jason Gardner opted against calling timeout and letting his squad play it out. Sophomore Jordan Pickett, who had 15 points, worked to his left outside the arc, but had the ball stripped away as he tried to penetrate. After a short scramble, Barksdale came out with the ball and immediately went right to the cup to drop in a score, just ahead of the final horn. The basket set off a wild celebration from the guest bench, resulting in a dog pile along the baseline while head coach Jason Gardner pumped his fist in the direction of a large IUPUI contingent behind the bench.

"I saw a crease there and just tried to drive it hard and make a play," Barksdale said. "I knew it was good and that I got it off in time. I was just happy to be in a position to make a play when we needed it. It was kind of a surreal moment."

"Marcellus is a guy that we count on to make plays in every situation. He's a senior leader and he's the guy that's been through the most battles," Gardner said. "Give (Fort Wayne) credit, we had a chance to bury them in the second half and they came back at us. They're a really good team for a reason, but I liked that when we gave up the lead, we battled right back and stayed engaged."

IUPUI came out with confidence and continued exhibiting the same offensive efficiency that began a week ago. After trading baskets early, IUPUI put together a 15-3 run spanning more than six minutes to build a double-digit lead. The lead grew as large as 15 before the break when Barksdale scored on a tough runner from the left side and IUPUI eventually took a 47-34 halftime lead when Osborne swished a trey on the final possession. The 47 first half points marked a season-high as the Jaguars turned it over just three times in the first 20 minutes.

IUPUI pushed ahead by as many as 17 when Matt O'Leary swished a pair of free throws with 14:28 to play, but the hosts, in front of a raucous crowd, fired back in a hurry. Fort Wayne (16-6, 5-2) outscored the Jags 31-9 over the next nine-plus minutes with the final six points coming on back-to-back DeAngelo Stewart triples, giving the hosts a 74-69 lead. Rather than cower, the Jaguars retaliated, getting four straight points on a Pickett free throw and Combs dagger from the top of the key. The Jags pulled even at 75 all with 3:42 left when Osborne hit a pretty hook going across the lane, bringing the crowd to its feet.

The teams traded baskets before IUPUI got a key defensive stop on a Michael Calder missed three. The Jags then capitalized when Pickett rained in a 16-footer off the left elbow with 2:14 left. After another defensive stop, Osborne sank his third trey of the game to give the Jags an 82-77 lead with 82 seconds left. However, IPFW made a final run beginning with a Calder three-point play. Then the hosts followed with a stop as Barksdale missed a contested jumper, giving the 'Dons a final look to tie or go ahead.

After a timeout, IPFW set up an isolation for John Konchar, who made it work by tipping-in his own miss with 22 seconds remaining, setting up Barksdale's heroics.

"Basketball is a game of runs and we just wanted to be in a position to make the final run," Barksdale said. "I thought we showed a lot of poise down the stretch tonight. It was a crazy game tonight, but it was a fun one to be part of."

Barksdale closed with 13 points and O'Leary added 10 in the win. The Jaguars shot 51 percent from the floor with the bulk of the work coming from inside the arc. IPFW knocked down 47.2 percent from the floor and 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from three-point range.

Calder led IPFW with a career-high 20 points and Konchar finished with a double-double with 14 points and 12 caroms. Max Landis chipped in 15 points and five assists in a full 40 minutes of work, but was just 4-of-15 from the floor. Stewart was a perfect 4-of-4 from deep and tallied 15 points in 23 minutes.

"I thought we did a pretty good job of identifying their shooters and closing out hard," Gardner said. "They're a hard team to get stops against because they can really spread you out and they've got a lot of guys that can hit shots. They made a lot of threes, but some of those were tough looks."

The win moved the Jaguars to 3-1 in Summit League road games as the conference schedule nears the midpoint.

IUPUI will return home to host back-to-back games as part of Homecoming Week. The Jaguars will host Western Illinois in a 1:00 p.m. tip on Friday, Jan. 29 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. As part of the ongoing Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers initiative, the IUPUI staff will be wearing sneakers during that game. IUPUI alumni will also receive $5 off their price of admission at the door.

Homecoming Week will begin on Monday (Jan. 25) as Gardner, women's coach Austin Parkinson and new Director of Athletics Dr. Roderick Perry will be among those participating in a Kick-Off event at noon at the Campus Center Atrium.