FARGO, N.D. - IUPUI and North Dakota State went toe-to-toe in a battle of Summit League unbeatens but the host Bison proved to be too much, outlasting the Jaguars, 93-89. Sophomore Khy Kabellis led four Bison in double-digits with 21 points and junior A.J. Jacobson added 20 in the win. 

Fifth-year senior Kellon Thomas led the Jags (7-9, 3-0 Summit) with a season-high 21 points and Matt O'Leary added 16 points on his 23rd birthday. Darell Combs finished with 13 points and Ron Patterson added 11 points off the bench. 

North Dakota State is the lone remaining undefeated Summit League team, just three games deep into the schedule. 

The story of the night was NDSU's efficient shooting pushing the hosts past the more rugged Jaguars. NDSU (11-5, 3-0 Summit) shot 52 percent overall and 10-of-20 from three-point range while IUPUI was held to just 37 percent shooting from the floor. However, the Jags crashed the glass hard, outrebounding the Bison 45-33, collecting 22 offensive caroms. However, IUPUI cashed in for just five second chance points, missing a slew of shots from point blank range. The 22 offensive boards were the Jags most since Dec. 3, 2011 when IUPUI grabbed 24, also against North Dakota State.  

"I thought we fought and really left it all out on the court tonight," Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "It's hard to win on the road. You have to be at your very, very best to win on the road and I don't think we were quite there tonight. We did a good job in a lot of areas, but we missed way too many shots - way too many layups - to get the win. 

"(NDSU) did a good job of challenging our shots, but a lot of those are shots we typically make. It was a great college basketball game between two pretty good teams and I think it shows just how good this league is. Top to bottom this is a good league and you have to bring it every single night to get wins."

For the second straight game, IUPUI didn't bring it from the outset and fell into a double-digit hole as NDSU surged ahead 15-4 in the opening minutes. The Jags countered to rattle off nine straight and the first half was nip-and-tuck from there. Both teams seemed content to keep the game close as the Bison played much of the opening 20 minutes short-handed when Paul Miller was sidelined with an injury and Kabellis and Jacobson were benched with two personal fouls. On the flip side, IUPUI weathered a first half in which Combs struggled to find the range from the floor. 

IUPUI took a brief lead with 1:32 left before halftime when Aaron Brennan banked in a jump hook, but NDSU cashed in on a rare five-point possession at the other end en route to a 42-41 halftime lead. NDSU's Jared Samuelson splashed a three while Brennan was called for a foul under the basket while wrestling Dexter Werner for position. Werner proceeded to swish both free throws to cap the five-point trip. 

The teams continued to go blow for blow down the stretch but the Jags missed on one too many opportunities, allowing the Bison to get just enough separation to seal the win. 

The Jags were down 85-82 with 4:07 to play before missing three clean looks before T.J. Henderson was fouled on the fourth attempt of the possession. The typically reliable sophomore misfired on both attempts and NDSU took advantage when Warner hit a pair of foul shots on the ensuing possession, giving NDSU a five-point lead with 3:13 left. IUPUI crept within two with 1:48 left following an Evan Hall slam and Thomas splitting a pair of free throws. It was still a one possession game with just more than a minute left when Thomas got all the way to the basket from the right wing, but missed an uncontested layup as he anticipated contact on the drive. 

Down four with 18 seconds left, Combs missed a contested three and NDSU hit enough freebies in the closing seconds to escape victorious. 

"It's not the outcome we would've liked but I definitely can't fault the effort," Gardner said. "I think we did a good job of putting ourselves in a position to win a tough road game against a tough team. That's really all you can ask for."

Werner finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the NDSU bench, including hitting 11-of-12 free throw attempts. Miller, the reigning Summit League Player of the Week, contributed 18 points and hit 4-of-6 three-point attempts. 

IUPUI got points from all nine players that saw action, including eight apiece from Hall and Brennan. Henderson added seven points and D.J. McCall continued to be a wrecking ball on the glass, grabbing a game-high 11 misses. IUPUI attempted 24 more field goals than North Dakota State, but made just 14-of-46 (30.4 percent) second half attempts. 

The Jaguars will cap the two-game trip on Saturday (Jan. 7) when they face South Dakota (11-7, 2-1) inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. That game is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Central (4:15 Eastern) and will be televised on MidcoSN and ESPN3. In addition, the game will be heard on 97.5 Fox Sports FM, 1260 WNDE and the iHeartRadio app as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call. 

The Jags will then return home to host Omaha on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. That game will include a halftime performance from the always entertaining Indy Air Bears and tickets are available by clicking here or by visiting the Coliseum box office.