INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Jaguars came away with a thrilling home win on Wednesday night (Jan. 18) thanks to some late-game heroics from Darell Combs. The senior guard's basket with 1.4 seconds left in overtime propelled the Jags to a 85-83 Summit League win over South Dakota State. The win was the second in a row for the Jaguars (9-11, 3-3 Summit), and helped them get back to .500 in Summit League play.
 
Junior Ron Patterson closed with a career-high 19 points and Combs helped pace the Jaguars attack with 18 points, including multiple big shots throughout the game. With the game tied at 83 in overtime, Combs stepped up and delivered the win for the Jags.
 
"I went at my pace, my speed. I didn't let anyone tell me when to go, and just made the read on it," Combs said after the win, "He didn't want to guard me close, so I told Evan to stay down, and God bless the shot went in."
 
In a back-and-forth game that saw 14 ties and 11 lead changes, big defensive stops and timely buckets keyed the Jags' success. The Jaguars held South Dakota State (8-13, 1-5 Summit) to 2-of-8 shooting in the extra period.
 
"I'm very pleased with our guys. The momentum swung to South Dakota State, but our guys stuck with it especially in the overtime period," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said after the game. "We got stops when we needed them, and executed on the other end."
 
After a sluggish start to the game that had the Jags down 13-11 at the first media timeout, the offense came alive. Patterson knocked in a triple and Aaron Brennan scored five points of his own to put the Jags up 22-19.

Then Patterson took over.

He knocked in a pair of triples to cap a 13-4 run, and gave the Jags their biggest lead of the half. Patterson made four first half treys and had 14 of his 19 before the break.
 
"I think Ron came in defensively and got after it. He banged some big threes to keep our momentum going. He had some really big deflections,  and that huge steal and dunk was great for us," Gardner said of the junior guard.
 
"It starts on defense, and letting my defense turn into offense. That's what I've been trying to do these last couple of games," Patterson said.
 
The Jackrabbits shot the ball extremely well from the floor, going 32-of-58 from the field, but couldn't get a bucket when they needed it most. The Jags were able to hold Mike Daum -- who came into the game averaging 24.4 points per game in conference play -- to only four points in regulation, and nine points for the game. The Jaguars regularly sent double teams at him, forcing him to give up the ball to his teammates.
 
"I thought we did a really good job trying to take Daum out. I thought our guys did a good job by trapping him and making him pass the ball out," Gardner said. "He's a tough matchup and I think we handled him really well."
 
The Jaguars had a balanced offensive attack, shooting 48 percent overall and 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) from three-point range. While Patterson and Combs led the way, Kellon Thomas and Matt O'Leary also hit double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Brennan scored seven off the bench, and T.J. Henderson added four points, three assists and three steals in 17 minutes off the bench. 
 
"I thought our bench came off this game and brought a lot of energy, and helped uplift us in that moment," Gardner said. "They were huge for us tonight."
 
Michael Orris led South Dakota State with 20 points, and A.J Hess added 14 of his own. Ian Thiesen added 11 points to round out their scoring in double figures while Daum was held under double-digits for just the third time this season.
 
The Jags have now won two straight games and have closed out close games in both of them, something that has plagued them recently in conference play.
 
"We've been losing a lot of close ones, and it just feels good to win a close one. We got it done on the defensive end, and we need to carry that over into our next game," Combs said.
 
The Jaguars will seek their first three-game winning streak of the season when they host Denver at 1:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The day will be filled with family friendly activities, including a halftime performance from Boomer and the Pacers' Power Pack. In addition, kids are invited down on the court immediately after the game for a postgame layup line. Tickets are available through TicketMaster outlets and at the Coliseum box office. 

In addition, two groups will be recognized throughout the day as part of an annual reunion, former basketball players in attendance may be recognized. In addition, the IUPUI Hall of Fame Class of 2017 will also be acknowledged on Saturday. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. The game will also be heard on 97.5 Fox Sports FM, 1260 WNDE and the iHeartRadio app as Morgan Adcock (pxp) calls the action from courtside.