SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The IUPUI basketball team collected its first Summit League Tournament win since 2011, upsetting No. 2 seeded North Dakota State, 76-57 inside the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center on Saturday night (Mar. 4). Junior Aaron Brennan posted his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Darell Combs added 11 as the Jags ran past the Bison in the second half. 

After leading by four at the half, IUPUI limited North Dakota State (19-11) to just 6-of-25 shooting (25 percent) after halftime while hitting 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) at the other end. IUPUI (14-17) finished at 50 percent overall and 9-of-25 (36 percent) from three-point range, easily outgunning the Bison. IUPUI will move on to play the winner of No. 3 Omaha and No. 6 Fort Wayne on Monday night (Mar. 6) at 8:30 p.m. Central (9:30 Eastern). 

"I thought we came out with energy from the beginning. I thought we were flying around for most of the game. I thought we did a good job of getting deflections and I thought we did an unbelievable job on the glass," Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "From start to finish, I thought we did a very good job."

"When we play good defense, it really translates to our offense," Brennan said. "We got stops and that led to some easy buckets and that got our confidence going."

IUPUI outscored North Dakota State 39-24 after intermission, including a 19-4 run that turned a 44-43 lead into a 63-47 runaway. Sophomore D.J. McCall scored six straight points during the run, including back-to-back putbacks to make it a double-digit lead. Sophomore T.J. Henderson followed with a steal and transition basket to put the Jags in front by 16 with 6:14 to play. 

Brennan proceeded to score the Jaguars' next eight points on a bevy of drives and free throws before Combs fired the final dagger, a corner three with 1:48 to play. 

IUPUI finished with a 38-20 scoring advantage in the paint and 18-7 edge in points off turnovers after committing just nine miscues. 

"I thought we moved the ball well," Gardner said. "Everybody that got in the game brought some energy. I think it helps that we can go to eight or nine guys." 

Sophomore Evan Hall finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting on the interior while O'Leary closed with 10 points and seven rebounds. Henderson closed with eight points, four boards and two assists and was largely the catalyst of the second half run.

NDSU's Paul Miller scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 18 of which came before halftime. He was the Bison's lone double-digit scorer as Khy Kabellis finished with nine points and Dexter Werner added eight points and nine caroms off the bench. 

The Jags stroked seven first half treys, albeit in 18 attempts, to build a 37-33 lead at the break. Brennan staked the Jaguars to an early 13-7 lead with a pair of early connections. Later, Matt O'Leary and Kellon Thomas hit in succession, followed by a Combs jumper to put the Jags back ahead 26-20.

The Jags will now benefit from a much needed day off before playing either the Mavs or Mastodons on Monday night. The break was intended for North Dakota State, which had a stranglehold on the league standings for the bulk of the regular season, before dropping to the No. 2 spot on the final weekend of the regular season. IUPUI became the first No. 7 seed to win a league tournament game since 2009 when South Dakota State tipped Oral Roberts in overtime. Additionally, IUPUI snapped a six-game Summit League Tournament losing streak with Saturday's victory and have now won three of four contests.

Monday's game will be broadcast on MidcoSN and ESPN3 and can be heard in Central Indiana on 97.5 Fox Sports FM, 1260 WNDE and the iHeartRadio app as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call.