INDIANAPOLIS - Despite being relegated to a seven-man rotation, IUPUI used superior balance in a breakout offensive display to run past Omaha, 88-76 inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Wednesday night (Feb. 17), snapped a three-game losing streak. Freshman T.J. Henderson led six Jaguars in double-digits with a career-high 16 points off the bench and Mason Archie tossed in 15, including a perfect 3-of-3 from deep. Fellow senior Marcellus Barksdale finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and Darell Combs contributed 13 points, five assists and four rebounds in the win.

Jake White led Omaha (17-11, 9-5 Summit) with 21 points in the loss.

"It was good for us to get back home, get in a good routine and get in a comfortable environment," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "I thought even when we were struggling those last couple games, we were taking good shots and they just weren't falling. Tonight, I thought our guys did a good job of looking for each other and making the extra pass so that we'd get really good shots.

"I liked the way we moved the ball and tried to find the open man. When we play like that, we can be dangerous offensively."

"The big thing we decided to do was to hammer down on defense and have fun," Archie said. "When we were getting (defensive) stops, we were having fun and it was helping our offense."

After struggling to shoot the basketball during the recent three-game skid, with all three losses coming on the road, the Coliseum proved to be the great elixir as IUPUI canned 56 percent from the field, 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from three-point range and scored a season-high 88 points. The Jags built an early 12-6 lead when Archie rattled in his first of three treys, meriting a fist pump from the senior whom had made just one trey since league play began in early January. Later, IUPUI would close the first half on a 12-2 run, capped by Barksdale's corner three as the final horn sounded, giving the Jags a 42-27 lead at the break.

"We've been good at closing out halves at home," Gardner said. "Getting that offensive rebound and getting the last shot was a big part of that."

As expected, Omaha made a hard charge in the second half, getting within six with 8:25 remaining when Tim Smallwood collected a steal near midcourt and raced the other way for a layup. However, IUPUI (12-16, 8-5) responded with a 10-0 run to improve to 8-1 at home this season.

Barksdale began the run with two free throws and Combs followed with a hard drive for two. After a defensive stand, Combs scored again, this time with a twisting reverse high off the backboard as he eluded Omaha's Tre'Shawn Thurman in the process. Moments later, Matt O'Leary intercepted a pass near midcourt and raced the other way for a crafty finish. The run reach double-digits when Combs hit Archie for an easy layup after knifing through the UNO defense.

"For the most part, I thought we handled their pressure fairly well," Gardner said. "We had some turnovers in there, but that's how they want to play. They want to turn you over and get out in transition."

IUPUI finished with 19 turnovers, leading to 27 Omaha points. However, the Jaguars dominated the glass, outrebounding the Mavs 43-27 and keeping the cold shooting guests to just five second chance points.

Both Aaron Brennan and Nick Osborne finished with 10 points and O'Leary finished with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds. Thurman had 12 points in just 16 minutes for the Mavs, but missed the majority of the first half with two fouls. Tra-Deon Hollins added 12 points, five assists and four steals and Devin Patterson poured in 10 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

IUPUI's eight Summit League wins are the program's most since 2010-11 when the Jaguars finished 12-6 in league play. The Jaguars and Mavs split the season series and are now separated by just a half game in the league standings.

IUPUI was without freshman Evan Hall and sophomore Jordan Pickett on Wednesday, both missing the game due to injury.

The Jaguars will hit the road one final time on Saturday when IUPUI plays at North Dakota State at 5:00 p.m. in a game that will be seen on ESPN3. That contest will also be heard in Central Indiana on 107.5 ESPN as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call.