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INDIANAPOLIS - After picking up a win in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night (Jan. 12), the Jaguars made sure that late game heroics weren't necessary. IUPUI (6-11, 3-3 HL) picked up their biggest win of the year thus far with a 67-61 win over Green Bay (7-13, 2-5 HL), sweeping the season series with the Phoenix.
 
On a night that featured ugly weather outside, both sides started out cold from the floor. It was largely in part to sloppy play on both ends, and the Jaguars amassed seven turnovers before the second media timeout. The energy was there, however, and the Jaguars started to find a rhythm on the offensive end.
 
"I thought it was a really good effort from start to finish," head coach Jason Gardner said. "They did a really good job coming out with some energy."
 
An 8-0 run spurred by back-to-back three-point possessions from Ron Patterson put the Jags up 17-10. The Jaguars continued to pound the offensive glass and their work on the boards allowed them to build a double-digit lead late in the first half. Threes by Aaron Brennan and T.J. Henderson sent the Jaguars into the locker room with a 35-24 lead. Patterson was the key catalyst on offense with 11 points in the first half.
 
"He's shooting with confidence," Gardner said of Patterson's performance, "when he shoots like that and he's aggressive, he's a different player."
 
The first half was one of the Jaguars' best defensive performances of the season as they held Green Bay to just 8-of-27 (29.6%) shooting from the floor and the Phoenix failed to connect on any of their attempts from distance. The Jags forced the Phoenix into nine turnovers and outrebounded them 25-16 in the opening frame.
 
The Jaguars opened the second half in a more crisp manner, moving the ball and getting open looks consistently at the start of the half. They stretched the lead out to 45-33 before empty possessions started to plague the offense. Green Bay used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to five before a three-point play by Maurice Kirby stopped the bleeding.
 
"Teams are going to make runs against us and we have to learn how to weather those storms and get through them because this is a game of runs," Henderson said. "When we're able to fight through, that's when we start seeing the wins pick up."
 
The Jaguars locked back in on the defensive end and got strong post play from Kirby and Evan Hall to stretch the lead back up to double-digits. The Jaguars maintained the double-digit lead for most of the second half and a late rally by Green Bay proved to be too late as the Jags cruised to the final 67-61 margin.
 
The Jaguars offensive attack was led by Patterson's 16 points in the win and Brennan added 15 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Hall joined him with double-figure rebounds with 10 while also adding six points. Henderson provided eight points off the bench and all Jaguars that played made it into the scoring column.
 
"As a team we didn't let anything make us take a step back, and we were able to stick together as a team and pull through," Henderson said.
 
Green Bay was led by Kameron Hankerson with 16 points. Manny Patterson and David Jesperson joined him in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Jaguars held Green Bay under 40 percent shooting from the floor and kept them to just 4-of-16 from distance.
 
"I thought guys laid it out there. At times when we looked a little fatigued, our guys were able to fight through and stay on the next play. I was excited to see them fight through tonight," Gardner said.

IUPUI will cap the four-game homestand on Tuesday night (Jan. 16) when the Jaguars host Detroit Mercy at Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.. That game will be aired on ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call.