INDIANAPOLIS - Having played its last six games away from home, the IUPUI basketball team will finally return to its home court on Monday (Dec. 12) when the Jaguars host Urbana University (3-5) at 7:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Monday's game will be aired on ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action from courtside. In addition, the game will be heard on 97.5 Fox Sports FM, 1260 AM and the iHeartRadio app as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call.
Like always, IUPUI students are admitted for FREE with a valid JagTag and the first students in attendance on Monday will receive a FREE IUPUI Nike t-shirt for their attendance.
Between the lines, IUPUI is looking to break a modest two-game skid as the Jaguars had a huge comeback fall just short at Miami on Saturday in a 71-68 defeat. The Jaguars trailed by 21 near the midpoint of the second half, but rallied all the way back to tie the game at 68 all in the final minute on a
Kellon Thomas three before yielding the game-winner with 18.9 seconds left.
"Our defense was pretty good in the second half. We got quite a few stops and were able to get back in the game," Head Coach
Jason Gardner said following Saturday's defeat. "It just took us far too long to get going early and we got in a huge hole. You flat out can't do that on the road and expect to win.
"We were having to climb uphill all day today and it came back to bite us."
Senior
Darell Combs leads the Jaguars in scoring (16.6 ppg), assists (3.5 apg), minutes played (32.4 mpg) and free throws made (33). Classmate
Matt O'Leary checks in at 14.8 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game. Junior
Ron Patterson is averaging 8.9 points per game and leads the Jaguars with 21 threes made and 14 steals. Junior
Aaron Brennan has been the team's top reserve at 7.2 points per game off the bench.
Urbana is led by Jahmere Howze (16.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Carlas Jackson (16.0 ppg, 17 3's). The Blue Knights have four players scoring in double-figures as Charles Sweatt-Washington (13.7 ppg) and DeQuan Abrom (12.6 ppg) have also filled it up this season. Collectively, Urbana is scoring 86.9 points per game, but allowing 94.9 points per game.
IUPUI is 1-0 all-time against Urbana, having defeated the team from Western Ohio 86-69 on Dec. 19, 2005 inside The Jungle. This year's Jaguars are 2-0 at home, having swept through the Indianapolis Subregional of the 2K Classic in mid-November with victories over Howard and Eastern Michigan.
JAGUAR TIDBITS
COMBS NOTES (@KidDRell1)
-Senior Darell Combs leads the Jags in scoring (16.6 ppg) and was voted preseason First Team All-Summit this season. Combs was a 2nd Team selection following last season.
-The Chicago-native has scored in double-digits 35 times in 41 career games and nine of 10 this season.
-Combs not only leads the Jags in scoring, but also leads the team in assists (35), free throws made (33) and minutes (32.4 mpg).
-Combs handed out his 100th career assist in the loss at Illinois.
-Combs capped his junior year with back-to-back 30+ scoring games, becoming the first IUPUI player to do so since George Hill achieved the feat in 2008.
MATT O'LEARY NOTES (@OLeary_15)
-Senior Matt O'Leary is riding a career-best nine straight games in double-digits, having hit for 10 or more in every game this season except the season-opener at Eastern Kentucky.
-O'Leary has one of the team's two double-doubles this season (Evan Hall has the other) and has two career double-doubles in an IUPUI uniform.
-O'Leary entered this week ranking among The Summit League leaders in eight different categories including field goal percentage (4th), rebounding (7th), scoring (8th) and three-point percentage (10th).
-After scoring just 20-or-more once last season, O'Leary has already done so in three of IUPUI's last five games, including a career-high 25 at Illinois.
-O'Leary led the Jags in scoring just three times last season, but has already done so three times this year.
-O'Leary has started all 42 games of his IUPUI career.
PATTERSON NOTES (@Buss34)
-Not known as a three-point threat upon transferring from Syracuse, junior Ron Patterson has been lethal from deep to start the season. The Indianapolis-native made just 15-of-71 (21.1 percent) attempts in his two years with the Orange, but is 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) in his first 10 games with the Jaguars.
-Patterson has hit at least three threes in five of the Jaguars' nine games, including a career-high 5-of-9 in the win over Eastern Michigan.
-Patterson leads the Jaguars with 14 steals and four dunks this season. His stat line in a 15-point effort at Marquette earlier this season was three 3's and three dunks.
THIS DJ
Sophomore D.J. McCall has provided a huge lift off the IUPUI bench of late, including matching his career-high with 14 points (6-7 FG) at Miami on Saturday. Since admittedly one of his worst career games at Illinois State, McCall is averaging 9.3 points and 7.0 rebounds the past three games while hitting 10-of-14 (.714) attempts from the field.
DOWN 21
IUPUI was down 21 (59-38) with 14 minutes left at Miami on Saturday before coming all the way back to tie the game in the final minute. Senior Kellon Thomas tied the score with a three with 29 seconds left before Miami scored the game's final three points to get the win.
UPSET BID THWARTED
IUPUI just missed picking off Illinois on Tuesday night (Dec. 6) before falling in Champaign, 85-77. IUPUI led for nearly half the game and was tied in the final minutes before fading late.
Senior Matt O'Leary led three Jags in double-digits with a career-high 25 points and Darell Combs added 18. Illinois needed a 32-point effort from All-Big Ten performer Malcolm Hill to stave off the Jaguars.
SLOW STARTS
IUPUI has gotten off to slow starts in each of the past two games, falling behind 13-0 at Miami on Saturday and 10-0 at Illinois last Tuesday.
SEEKING 250
A win today would be IUPUI's 250th at the Division I level, which began in 1998.
Click here to see full IUPUI game notes
