YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The IUPUI basketball team will look to start a new winning streak on Saturday night (Jan. 20) when the Jaguars face Youngstown State at 7:00 p.m. inside the Beeghly Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and marks the first meeting between the two schools since 2001. 

IUPUI (7-12, 4-4 HL) had its three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night at Cleveland State, 70-67. The Jaguars trailed by as many as 17 in the first half and were down 12 with under eight minutes to play. However, the Jags fought all the way back, taking a one-point lead in the final minute when freshman Jaylen Minnett completed a four-point play. However, Cleveland State got a basket with 22.6 seconds left and the Jags turned it over on the ensuing possession, helping the Vikings secure the win. 

Senior Aaron Brennan hit for double-digits for the sixth straight game with 17 points and junior Evan Hall finished with 11 points. Brennan's six-game double-digit string is tied for the longest stretch of his IUPUI career. The Jaguars' top scorer is averaging 16.3 points per game over the past six contests while shooting 45.8 percent from three-point range. He's also grabbing six boards per game during that stretch. 

Junior D.J. McCall did a bit of everything on Thursday night, finishing with seven points, seven boards, six assists and three steals in the defeat. McCall continues to lead the Horizon League in steals at 2.0 swipes per game. 

QUOTABLE
"Tonight, we just made too many turnovers and took some bad shots and didn't get stops when we needed them. And even with all of that, we still gave ourselves a chance to win the game. We didn't match their intensity early in the game and that kind of forced us to play uphill in the first half. I was proud of how the guys fought back and got in the game, but you can't dig a hole like that on the road and expect to win," head coach Jason Gardner said after Thursday's loss at Cleveland State.  

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State is 5-15 on the season and 3-4 in Horizon League play. The Penguins are 4-2 at home with wins over Milwaukee and Green Bay in league play. YSU's lone road win of the season came at Cleveland State in their HL opener.
    PROBABLE STARTERS:
    G- Braun Hartfield (6-6, Soph.) 15.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 45.7 FG%
    G- Cameron Morse (6-3, Sr.) 14.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.0 apg, 36.0 FG%
    G- Garrett Covington (6-5, Fr.) 8.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 47.5 FG%
    F- Devin Haygood (6-7, Jr.) 7.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 57.7 FG%
    F- Naz Bohannon (6-6, Fr.) 6.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 43.3 FG%
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
IUPUI and Youngstown State have played nine times in a series that dates back to 1975, which includes six meetings as foes in the Mid-Continent Conference from 1999-2001. YSU leads the all-time series 8-1 and has won five of the six meetings in Youngstown. IUPUI's lone victory was a 55-48 victory in February 2000 in Youngstown. The most recent meeting was on Jan. 27, 2001 in a game won by the Penguins, 82-75 in Youngstown. 

UP NEXT
IUPUI will continue the five-game stretch away from home when the Jaguars trek to Chicago to face UIC next Saturday night (Jan. 27). That game will tip-off at 3:00 p.m. Central (4 Eastern) inside UIC Pavilion and be broadcast on ESPN3 or heard on iHeartRadio and Fox Sports 97.5 FM as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call. In addition, a pregame reception will be held at Wise Owl Drinkery & Cookhouse for IUPUI fans in the Chicago-area. Those interested in attending should contact Joe Kantor at jrkantor@indiana.edu.   

GAME NOTES (click here for PDF of the full games notes)
LAST TIME OUT
IUPUI committed a season-high 21 turnovers and dropped a nail biter at Cleveland State, 70-67. The Jaguars climbed out of a pair of double-digit deficits before ultimately succumbing in the game's final minute. IUPUI trailed by as many as 17 in the first half before taking the lead with just over 13 minutes to play. However, Cleveland State retook the lead and extended it to 12 with under eight minutes remaining before the Jags went back in front in the final minute. However, CSU scored the game's final four points in the final 22.6 seconds to steal the win.
Senior Aaron Brennan led the Jags with 17 points and Evan Hall added 11.  

CLOSE CALLS
Five of IUPUI's last six games have been decided by six points or less. The Jags are 3-2 in those five decisions. Only two of IUPUI's eight Horizon League games have been decided by 10 points or more - an 18-point loss at NKU and a 15-point win over Detroit. 

GOOD IN JANUARY
January is the lone month in which head coach Jason Gardner has a winning record, having gone 17-14 (.548) at the helm of the program. 

THEFT ALERT
Junior D.J. McCall currently leads the Horizon League (41st nationally) with 2.0 steals per game. After not collecting a steal in the season's opening two games, McCall has 36 steals in 16 games (2.25 spg).
By comparison, McCall had just 22 steals all of last season. 

ROSTER CHANGES
The IUPUI program had a few roster changes at the turn of the semester as one player departed the program and two others joined the Jaguars. Little used sophomore Noah Thomas left the program after having appeared in just two games in the first semester. Thomas, a 6-foot-9 center, totaled four points and four rebounds in eight total minutes.
On the flip side, the Jaguars brought in a pair of transfers as Mike Sagay (Boston College) and Trevor Johnson (Mesa [Ariz.] C.C.) joined the program. Sagay, a 6-foot-7 forward, comes to IUPUI with two-and-a-half years of eligibility, after having played 15 games at Boston College last season. A 3-star recruit, Sagay was ranked among Connecticut's top players as a senior at St. Thomas More High School.
Johnson, a 6-foot-2 guard, comes to IUPUI with two years of eligibility remaining. Johnson was an All-State performer while at Flagstaff [Ariz.] High School before attending Mesa Community College.
Both are able to begin practice with the team immediately.   

STARTER NOTES
In the early portion of the non-league slate, head coach Jason Gardner continued to tweak the Jaguars' starting five, using six different quintets. For the year, senior Aaron Brennan is the lone Jag to have started all 19 games and Ron Patterson and Evan Hall have each started 18 times. Eight different players have at least one start this season.
That said, the group of Brennan, Patterson, Hall, D.J. McCall and Nick Rogers have started IUPUI's last 12 games (5-7). 

BENCH NOTES
As a result of the shuffling lineups, the IUPUI bench has been especially strong, averaging 24.1 points per game, including a season-high 42 on two different occasions. The past four years, the IUPUI bench has outscored opponents in 76 of 114 (66.7 percent) of its games, going 38-38 in those contests. 

BENCH NOTES, PART II
IUPUI's top scorer has been a reserve six times this season. Four different players have contributed to those six occasions.
Patterson (1): at Ball State (14 pts)
Kirby (1): at Purdue (16 pts)
Minnett (1): at Wright State (11 pts)
Henderson (3): at Gonzaga (18 pts), IUK (19 pts), at GB (13 pts)

CHECK THE PERCENTAGES
In IUPUI's seven wins, the Jags have shot 46.1 percent from the field and held foes to 39.6 percent overall and 28.4 percent from deep.
In the Jaguars' 12 losses, IUPUI has shot just 40.2 percent overall and allowed opponents to shoot a robust 53.3 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from beyond the arc. 

IN LEAGUE PLAY...
IUPUI has defended the three well in Horizon League play, yielding just 30.3 percent from deep in eight games. On the flip side, IUPUI is shooting 35.8 percent from deep in league play, led by Ron Patterson and Jaylen Minnett's 14 makes. Aaron Brennan has made 13 3's and is shooting 43.3 percent.   
IUPUI has made as many or more threes than their opponents in each of the eight league games thus far. 

MAKE SHOTS, WIN GAMES
The most telling number of outcomes of games under head coach Jason Gardner has simply been field goal percentages.
IUPUI is 40-8 (.833) in games in which the Jaguars have shot a better percentage than opponents and just 4-62 (.061) when being outshot.
The Jan. 10 Milwaukee win is the only time this season IUPUI has been outshot and won the game. 

GETTING LOOKS
Two areas where IUPUI has excelled this season are offensive rebounding (68th nationally - 12.2 rpg) and forcing turnovers (46th nationally - 15.8 to/g).
Because of those numbers, IUPUI has attempted 121 more shots than their foes for the year, good for 6.4 shot attempts per game. 

GRADE CHECK
Ten members of the IUPUI basketball team earned at least a 3.0 grade point average during the fall semester - Evan Borgman, Aaron Brennan, Elyjah Goss, Evan Hall, T.J. Henderson, Chad Hudson, Ahmed Ismail, Maurice Kirby, D.J. McCall and Noah Thomas.