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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - For the second straight game, a lackluster start spelled doom for the IUPUI basketball team as the Jaguars fell at Youngstown State on Saturday night (Jan. 20), 85-62. Host YSU built a 24-point first half lead and never looked back as IUPUI dropped its second straight game of the road trip. 

Cameron Morse led four Penguins in double-digits with a game-high 23 points, including hitting 4-of-9 from deep, and freshman Garrett Covington closed with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Senior Aaron Brennan paced IUPUI (7-13, 4-5 HL) with 14 points and grabbed his 400th career rebound and T.J. Henderson chimed in with 11 points off the bench. 

Youngstown State (6-15, 4-4 HL) used IUPUI's typical recipe for success, dominating the offensive glass and forcing turnovers at a rapid pace to run past the Jaguars. The Penguins shot 52 percent and proceeded to grab 18 of their own misses, resulting in 20 second chance points. The YSU full-court press stymied the Jaguars' attack, leading to 16 IUPUI turnovers and 23 Penguin points. 

YSU outscored the Jaguars 38-26 in the paint and outrebounded IUPUI 39-19 for the game. 

"They flat out beat us tonight," head coach Jason Gardner said. "They took it to us, plain and simple. We didn't show up for 40 minutes and they took it to us. We tried to make a game of it, but we didn't match their energy and that was the story of the game."

IUPUI trailed by as many as 24 just before halftime before making a game of it early in the second half. The Jags were down 42-18 at the 3:59 mark after YSU's Jaylen Benton stroked a jumper. However, IUPUI closed the half by outscoring YSU 17-6, capped by a Henderson jumper at the horn to cut the margin to 13 at the break. Gardner's squad then opened the second half with five straight defensive stops and scored eight points in succession to make it a five-point game. 

IUPUI would get within five on a number of occasions, but never got fully over the hump. It was a 57-52 game with 12:44 left after Jaylen Minnett buried a wing three, but the Jags yielded five quick without getting the ball beyond halfcourt. Covington scored on a backdoor cut and then an IUPUI turnover against the full-court press resulted in a Morse three-point play. 

YSU issued a final haymaker with a 12-0 run, pushing out to a 20-point lead with 6:47 left. 

"We can't make a habit of getting down big and expect to win games. You can't get down big and come back and win on a consistent basis. It doesn't work like that," Gardner said. "We haven't matched the other teams' intensity from the start the past couple games and that's a problem. We've let them bring the game to us, rather than starting out aggressive."

Even the early positives left a sour aftertaste, setting the tone for the evening. After D.J. McCall stole the opening tip and scored the game's first bucket, he then intercepted a pass near midcourt and was off to the races on YSU's first possession. However, the bouncy junior missed the dunk and tried to catch the rebound while hanging on the rim. He was assessed a technical and IUPUI had a 2-1 lead as opposed to a 4-0 advantage.

Things continued to spiral downward from there as YSU shot 60 percent in the first half, including 6-of-11 from three. 

Ron Patterson finished with nine points on 3-of-3 from long range and Minnett scored eight points off the bench. Junior Evan Hall closed with seven points and a pair of blocked shots and Maurice Kirby tallied six off the bench. 

The loss dropped IUPUI to 1-9 all-time against Youngstown State. 

IUPUI will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 27 when the Jaguars face UIC at 3:00 p.m. Central (4 Eastern) inside the UIC Pavilion. That game will be aired on ESPN3 and can be heard on Fox Sports 97.5 FM or the iHeartRadio app as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call. IUPUI will be hosting a pregame reception at nearby Wise Owl Drinkery & Cookhouse and those interested in attending should contact Joe Kantor at jrkantor@indiana.edu for details. Saturday's game will be the Jaguars' third of five straight contests away from home.