INDIANAPOLIS - The 2017-18 IUPUI men's basketball season officially got underway with the annual Red-White scrimmage Monday night (Oct. 30). Following a 27-24 victory over the IUPUI women's team in a three-point shootout, the White team defeated the Red team, 40-38. True freshman Jaylen Minnett led the way in scoring with 12 points.
 
The Jaguars maintained the hot shooting into the start of the game, where threes were flying early and often. Six different players connected from behind the arc, including three from Minnett. The two squads interchanged leads multiple times throughout the half, and the Red squad took a 25-21 lead into the break.
 
The offense cooled in the second half as the two sides battled each time down the court. After combining for a total of 46 points in the first half, neither team was able to crack 20 points in the second frame. For the White team, junior D.J. McCall was able to find his way into the scoring frame with all of his seven points coming in the second half.
 
The two teams battled down to the final minute, and a bucket by sophomore T.J. Henderson put the White squad up 40-38 with under 10 seconds to go. Camron Justice had a look at a go-ahead three at the buzzer, but it was off the mark giving the White squad the victory.
 
Overall, head coach Jason Gardner was pleased with the effort from both sides, specifically with the guard play from guys like Minnett, Henderson and Nick Rogers.
 
"We're still working on some things, and I think the tempo was a little bit slower tonight. I think our pace needs to be a little bit faster," Gardner said following the scrimmage. "Overall, we just came off a scrimmage and we can get back to the drawing board tomorrow."
 
This year's team will have a different look than the teams from earlier in Gardner's tenure. With multiple transfers and freshmen poised to get significant playing time, the team is taking it day by day as the program makes the transition to the Horizon League.
 
"It's going okay, we have two more weeks until we play our first official game," Gardner said, "I think anytime you're changing guards with Nick and T.J. learning the offense - and adding some newer guys like [Maurice] Kirby and Jaylen - it's going to take some time for guys to get used to each other."
 
With so many new faces coming into the mix, getting leadership from the seniors has been pivotal heading into the season.
 
"Aaron Brennan and Ron Patterson have done a great job. T.J. is doing a very good job, as well as D.J. McCall. Even Kirby has come in and done a good job. I think our three between Aaron, Kirby and Ron have done a really good job leading this team."
 
On top of Minnett's 12 points, Henderson and Kirby each had eight points. Kirby also pulled down eight rebounds and dished three assists. The Red team was led in scoring by Justice with 10 points and five assists. Freshman Elyjah Goss chipped in with nine and Ahmed Ismail had six points and five rebounds.
 
The Jaguars will be back in action on Friday, November 3 as they take on Carroll University in their only exhibition of the preseason. The game tips off at 7 p.m. at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. That game will be aired on ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. 
 
Fans can still get season tickets for the upcoming 2017-18 season by filling out this form or contacting Lauren Gronke at 317-278-2530 or lgronke@iupui.edu. Single-game tickets are expected to go on sale on Nov. 1.