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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The IUPUI basketball team knew it would take a near perfect effort to upset No. 21/21 Purdue as both teams readied for finals week on Sunday night (Dec. 10). The Jags showed some mettle, but fell short, literally and figuratively, to the Boilermakers, 86-61 inside Mackey Arena. 

Carsen Edwards led Purdue (10-2) with a career-best 27 points and 7-foot-2 senior Isaac Haas contributed 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Vincent Edwards finished with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double as Purdue shot 54 percent from the field and outscored IUPUI 36-26 in the paint. 

IUPUI (2-6) fifth-year senior Maurice Kirby had a career-high 16 points off the bench for the Jaguars and was joined in double-digits by Jaylen Minnett and T.J. Henderson, who scored 12 and 10 respectively, also off the bench. The IUPUI bench accounted for 42 of the team's 61 points as no Jaguar starter finished with more than six points.   

"I'm proud of my team," head coach Jason Gardner said. "The outcome is what it is, but I thought we fought and scrapped and left it all out there tonight. That's all you can ask for when you go on the road and you're playing one of the nation's best teams. I thought we did some really good things tonight. 

"I thought Kirby was really good against their bigs tonight and guys like Jaylen and T.J. stepped up and made some big shots for us. They're a really good team. They've got all the pieces and that's what makes them a tough matchup."

The Jags got off to a good start, forcing Purdue turnovers on the game's first two possessions and converting them into five points. Nick Rogers stroked a three and D.J. McCall scored in transition after picking off a pass near midcourt. However, the Jags slowed from there as the Purdue defense clamped down in the halfcourt. After going down 10-7, IUPUI rattled off 12 straight, all on three-point possessions. Minnett hit hit a trey and then three freebies after being fouled from deep. Henderson then drilled back-to-back treys, the second coming in transition to prompt a Purdue timeout. 

The Boilers responded out of the timeout, tallying eight straight as the Jags continued to struggle to get good looks against the Boilers' length in the halfcourt. Knowing the three-point line would be critical against the Purdue skyscrapers in the frontcourt, the Jaguars' perimeter shots stopped falling late in the half and the Boilers eventually warmed up after missing eight straight triples to start the game. 

Cline hit a pair of treys in the final two minutes of the half and Thompson drained a left-wing trifecta at the horn to give the hosts a 40-31 halftime advantage. 

Purdue opened the second half with a knockout punch, scoring 14 consecutive points, which included a pair of technical shots after Evan Hall was slapped with a T after Mathias had canned a contested three. Kirby snapped the run with a right-handed layup at the 16:15 mark as part of his first career double-digit scoring game, but Purdue led comfortably the remainder of the night. 

Purdue led by as many as 32 midway through the second half before both teams went deep into their benches.

"It'll be good for our guys to get some time to focus on finals and get a few good practices in," Gardner said. "It doesn't get any easier for us but the hope is that we're battle tested by the time we start playing Horizon League games. We've got to continue to get better and better each and every day." 

Aaron Brennan and Rogers scored six points apiece and McCall closed with four points and tied his career-high with four steals. Redshirt freshman Elyjah Goss grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the Jaguars. IUPUI finished at 43 percent from the floor and 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from deep. 

The loss dropped IUPUI to 0-3 all-time against Purdue and 0-16 against nationally ranked opponents. 

IUPUI will continue the rigorous three-game road trek next weekend with a two-game trip out west. The trip will begin at Washington State on Saturday (Dec. 16) at 6:00 p.m. Eastern (3:00 Pacific) and will conclude on Monday (Dec. 18) at 2017 national runner-up Gonzaga. That contest will tip-off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern (6:00 Pacific).