INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will host its final home game of the 2016-17 season on Saturday night (Feb. 25) when the Jaguars welcome South Dakota (20-10, 11-4 Summit) to Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.. The Jaguars will recognize the departing group of
Darell Combs,
Josh James,
Matt O'Leary,
Grant Sinn and
Kellon Thomas immediately after the game. Tickets are available via
TicketMaster and at the Coliseum box office.
The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. In addition, the game can be heard on 97.5 Fox Sports FM, 1260 WNDE and the iHeartRadio app as Morgan Adcock (pxp) describes the action. As part of an alumni reconnection initiative, the department will be hosting an
All-Sports Reunion to recognize former student-athletes from across the department. In addition, the game will be sponsored by
Indiana Members Credit Union and fans in attendance will receive FREE giveaways throughout the evening.
On the court, the Jaguars squeaked out another nail biter on Thursday night, edging in-state foe Fort Wayne, 83-82. Combs paced four Jaguars in double-digits with 20 points, including 11 in succession in the second half, and
Matt O'Leary chipped in with 14 points, five rebounds and five steals. Defensively, IUPUI forced 23 Fort Wayne turnovers and outscored the Mastodons 29-12 in points off turnovers.
Thomas finished with 12 points and
Ron Patterson added 11 points, including a pair of highlight reel dunks, off the bench.
IUPUI outscored Fort Wayne 17-2 over a nearly five-minute span, ignited by Combs' personal 11-0 run. The Jags led by as many as 11 in the second half before holding on to the victory in the closing minutes.
"I thought our crowd was amazing, I thought they really brought the energy," Head Coach Jason Gardner said praising the fans after the game. "Our guys did a really good job of sticking to the gameplan, and I was pleased with how they stayed locked in and competitive throughout the game.
"I think early in the season we would stress a little bit in that situation and get away from our game, but tonight it shows the leadership from our seniors to keep our guys focused on the court and in the huddles."
South Dakota comes in on a five-game winning streak and has won seven of their last eight with three of those victories having come on the road. The Coyotes defeated Western Illinois 92-81 on Thursday night fueled by Trey Dickerson's 21 points and Trey Burch-Manning's 10-point, 14-rebound double-double. The Yotes outrebounded WIU 42-33 and turned it over just eight times in the win.
For the year, Matt Mooney leads USD in scoring (17.7 ppg), threes made (62), free throws made (100) and steals (64). Senior forward Tyler Flack (15.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Dickerson (10.5 ppg) round out USD's double-digit scorers.
USD won the earlier meeting between the two schools, 85-74 on Jan. 7 in Vermillion. Combs scored a game-high 27 points in the loss and O'Leary added 14 points and seven caroms. Carlton Hurst paced the Coyotes with 19 points and eight boards and both Burch-Manning and Mooney closed with 16 apiece.
IUPUI is just 3-8 all-time against the Coyotes and 2-3 in the five meetings in Indianapolis.
JAGUAR TIDBITS
CHASING 1,000
Three Jags are chasing the 1,000-point mark as the season winds down.
Darell Combs - 1,261 collegiate pts (271 @ EMU /
990 @ IUPUI)
Combs would become the 23rd member of IUPUI's 1,000 Point Club
Kellon Thomas - 1,019 collegiate pts (738 @ Kent St. / 281 @ IUPUI)
Matt O'Leary - 983 collegiate pts (245 @ Loyola / 738 @ IUPUI)
DO THE SPLITS
As the league schedule comes to a close, IUPUI has split the home-and-home series with seven of its eight Summit League foes this year.
Should the Jags win tonight, IUPUI will close the year at 8-8 in league play, having split the series with all eight foes.
TICKET PUNCHED
The Jaguars earned their spot in the upcoming Summit League Tournament by virtue of Sunday's win at Denver, topping the Pioneers 83-72. The Jags can still finish as high as No. 3 in the standings but could finish as low as No. 8.
LOOK NO FURTHER
The one statistical category that is the easiest tell for IUPUI outcomes is shooting percentage. IUPUI is 12-2 this year and 6-0 in Summit League play when outshooting the opposition. On the flip side, the Jags are 1-14 and 1-8 in Summit League play when being outshot from the field.
Under Gardner, IUPUI is 33-7 when outshooting its opponent and just 3-49 when being outshot.
FORT WAYNE NOTES
Senior
Darell Combs scored in double-digits for the 50th time in his IUPUI career, scoring a game-high 20 points, including a personal 11-0 run in the second half... the win marked the first time in league play the Jags have been outshot (58% to 50%) and still got the win... senior
Matt O'Leary matched his career-high with five steals as IUPUI forced 23 turnovers and outscored the 'Dons 29-12 in points off turnovers... IUPUI matched its season-high with 21 free throws made.
PEAKING TOWARDS MARCH
A win tonight would give the Jaguars a season-best three-game winning streak. Oddly enough, IUPUI hasn't had a losing streak longer than three games or a winning streak longer than two games this year.
NEW FIVE
Out of necessity, Head Coach
Jason Gardner altered his starting five prior to the North Dakota State game and has gone 4-2 since then. Junior
Aaron Brennan replaced the injured
Evan Hall and has averaged 9.8 points in his six starts.
TOP-30 NATIONALLY
IUPUI is 21st nationally in three-point percentage (39.5%) and 32nd in threes made (266). The Jaguars 266 treys are a new school record, eclipsing the mark of 246, set in 2007-08.
The Jaguars' current 39.5% clip is on pace to be the program's best since 2007-08 when IUPUI shot 42.3% from deep as a team.
40+
IUPUI has four regulars all hitting better than 40 percent from deep -
Aaron Brennan (24 3's, 50.0%),
Matt O'Leary (62 3's, 45.3%),
T.J. Henderson (29 3's, 42.6%) and
Ron Patterson (59 3's, 41.0%).
50-50-50 CLUB
The trio of
Darell Combs (53),
Matt O'Leary (61)
and
Ron Patterson (57)
have all made at least 50 treys this season. It marks the first time in school history IUPUI has had three players makes 50 treys in a season.
In 2007-08, IUPUI had three players make at least 40 treys that year as Gary Patterson (93), Austin Montgomery (72) and George Hill (49) all hit that mark.
THOMAS ON THE LINE
Senior
Kellon Thomas entered the game at South Dakota State ranked No. 2 nationally in free throw percentage at 93.5%, having hit 72-of-77 attempts, but went 1-of-3 in the loss to the Jackrabbits.
In doing so, he had his streak of 33 consecutive makes snapped.
The Indianapolis-native enters tonight at 91.1% and is chasing the school record mark of 91.4%, set by Gary Patterson in 2007-08. Only two players, Patterson and Nick David, have single-season marks of 90 percent or better.
COMBS AT THE HORN
Senior
Darell Combs capped an 18-point performance against SDSU by knocking in the game-winner with 1.5 seconds left in overtime. The Chicago-native hit a pull-up 18-footer from the right wing to send the Jaguars to an 85-83 win.
Ironically, Combs had two other 'buzzer beaters' during the game, hitting a 25-footer from the right wing at the end of the first half and then hit a 30-footer from the top of the key as the shot clock was expiring with 3:25 to play.
FOUR GAME-WINNERS
Combs became the fourth Jaguar to connect for a game-winner since Gardner's hire three years ago. Here are the others:
P.J. Boutte 15' floater at the horn vs. Ball State (71-69 / Nov. 22, 2014)
Marcellus Barksdale layup at the horn at IPFW (84-82 / Jan. 23, 2016)
Jordan Pickett wing 3 with :02 vs. NDSU (73-72 / Jan. 31, 2016)
Darell Combs wing J with :01.5 vs. SDSU (85-83 / Jan. 18, 2017)
IN LEAGUE PLAY...
...IUPUI has had five different players score 20 or more in a game;
Darell Combs,
Matt O'Leary,
Kellon Thomas,
D.J. McCall and
Evan Hall all have hit for 20-or-more in a Summit League game. Two others have been close as
Ron Patterson has a 19-point game and
Aaron Brennan has an 18-point game.
SUMMIT LEAGUE OPENERS
Following the win over Western Illinois, Head Coach
Jason Gardner is now 3-0 in Summit League openers. He previously won at Fort Wayne (63-58) on Jan. 4, 2014 and at South Dakota (77-66) last season.
INSIDE THE COLISEUM
IUPUI is 17-5 (.773) at home the past two seasons and 22-13 (.629) since Gardner took over the program.
10 TREYS
IUPUI has made at least 10 threes in a game 13 times this season, seven of which have occurred in Summit League play.
HOT AT HOME
IUPUI is shooting 43.6% from three-point range at home this season and averaging 10.2 makes per game.
COMBS NOTES (@KidDRell1)
-Senior
Darell Combs leads the Jags in scoring (16.6 ppg) and was voted preseason First Team All-Summit this season. Combs was a 2nd Team selection following last season.
-The Chicago-native has scored in double-digits 50 times in 60 career games and 24 of 29 this season. He's hit for 20-or-more nine times this season and 18 times in his career.
-Combs scored his 1,000th collegiate point in a 23-point effort in the win over Marian on Dec. 28. Including his 271 points scored at Eastern Michigan, Combs has 1,261 career points (990 at IUPUI) entering tonight's game. With 10 points tonight, he'd become IUPUI's 23rd member of the 1,000 point club.
-Combs hit his 100th career three against Denver on Jan. 21. He handed out his 100th career assist in the loss at Illinois.
-Combs capped his junior year with back-to-back 30+ scoring games, becoming the first IUPUI player to do so since
George Hill achieved the feat in 2008.
O'LEARY NOTES (@OLeary_15)
-Senior
Matt O'Leary had a streak of 19 straight games in double-digits snapped with a 9-point, 9-rebound effort against Denver on Jan. 21. He's scored in double-digits in 24 of 29 games this season.
-O'Leary ranks among The Summit League leaders in eight different categories: field goal percentage, defensive rebounding, three-point percentage, rebounding, blocked shots, assists, three-point field goals and scoring.
-After scoring just 20-or-more once last season, O'Leary has done it seven times this year, including a career-high 25 at Illinois.
-O'Leary led the Jags in scoring just three times last season, but has done so seven times this year.
-O'Leary has started all 60 games of his IUPUI career.
-Achieved a 4.0 GPA during the fall semester. He was voted Academic All-District for the second straight year this year.
-Has 983 collegiate points - 245 in his two years at Loyola and 739 at IUPUI.
K. THOMAS NOTES (@KellonCash5)
-Thomas is averaging 11.9 points per game in Summit League play and has 37 assists against just 16 turnovers.
-After scoring in double-digits just four times in non-conference play, has hit for dubs in 10 Summit League games.
-Has 1,019 points in his collegiate career - 738 at Kent State and 281 this season. He scored his 1,000th collegiate point at Denver on Feb. 19.
PATTERSON NOTES (@Buss34)
-Not known as a three-point threat upon transferring from Syracuse, junior
Ron Patterson has been lethal from deep this season. The Indianapolis-native made just 15-of-71 (21.1 percent) attempts in his two years with the Orange, but is 59-of-144 (41 percent) this year.
-Patterson has hit at least three threes 11 times, including a career-high five on two different occasions.
-Patterson leads the Jaguars with 39 steals and is second on the squad with 59 threes made.
-His stat line in a 15-point effort at Marquette earlier this season was three 3's and three dunks.
LINEUP TWEAKS
IUPUI has used just three starting lineups this season with seniors
Matt O'Leary,
Darell Combs and
Kellon Thomas having started every game this year.
SMARTY CATS
The Jaguars posted an all-time best semester GPA of 3.09 during the fall. All total, 13 Jaguars posted a GPA of 3.0 or above, led by
Matt O'Leary's 4.0 mark.
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