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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team's two-game winning streak came to a halt in a flurry of missed layups, missed jumpers and missed box outs as the Jaguars dropped an 82-76 home contest to Youngstown State on a snowy Saturday afternoon (Jan. 12). Freshman Darius Quisenberry led YSU (6-13, 2-4 HL) with 22 points and eight assists and Garrett Covington poured in 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the win. 

Senior D.J. McCall led IUPUI (10-8, 2-3 HL) with 14 points and six boards while Camron Justice added 13 points. IUPUI shot 43 percent overall, but just 5-of-20 (25 percent) from deep while YSU found the Coliseum to its liking, shooting 48 percent overall and 11-of-24 (46 percent) from three-point range. 

"The most disappointing part is that you have to take care of your home floor in this league. That's simple math. You have to win your home games and then figure out how to sneak some wins on the road," head coach Jason Gardner said. "(Youngstown State) knew that and came in here and stole one on our court. They threw the first punch and were the aggressors today. We can't let that happen. We've got to be better than that."

Things started well for the Jaguars as McCall recovered the opening tip and raced in for a two-handed dunk, but Youngstown State fired back with a 9-0 burst. The game stayed tight for much of the first half as Jaylen Minnett nearly single-handedly ignited a 7-0 run late in the half to give the Jaguars a 35-30 lead. However, YSU closed the half with a 10-3 rally that included a Michael Akuckie trey in the closing seconds that gave the Penguins a 40-38 advantage. 

The opening five minutes of the second half featured six lead changes before YSU used an 11-2 run to build a 58-49 lead. Quisenberry drilled two treys during a run that was originally sparked by a Jelani Simmons triple. In all, the Penguins opened the second half 4-of-5 from beyond the arc while IUPUI struggled to make anything from distance. 

The YSU lead grew to 74-61 with six minutes to play when Quisenberry banked in a long three with the shot clock running down, prompting Gardner to call timeout. The hosts were still down 12 with 2:11 left, but put up a furious late rally that ultimately fell short. 

Justice stroked a wing three before YSU missed at the other end. Junior Nick Rogers cut the lead to seven with a drive down the right side of the lane and then picked off a pass in the backcourt as the Jaguars applied a full-court press. Sophomore Grant Weatherford converted another layup off the steal, making it 79-74 with 1:05 left. 

The Jags forced another turnover when Elyjah Goss picked off a pass near midcourt and fed Weatherford, who was fouled driving to the hoop. Weatherford shaved another point off the lead by making the first of a 1-and-1 opportunity. After missing the second, the Jags forced a 10-second violation with an impromptu press on the miss. 

On the ensuing possession Justice missed an initial attempt and McCall just missed getting an and-1 opportunity as his putback attempt spun off the front of the rim as he was fouled. McCall split the pair, making it a one possession game with 19 seconds left. Forced to foul and under the limit, IUPUI eventually sent Noe Anabir to the line with 14 seconds left where he split a pair. 

However, IUPUI came up empty when Minnett missed a trey and Quisenberry grabbed the board before being fouled. 

YSU won the glass 36-33 as Naz Bohannon grabbed a team-high seven boards for the Penguins. 

Weatherford had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists in the loss and Ahmed Ismail added nine points and seven rebounds, including four off the offensive glass. Rogers had eight points and three assists off the bench and both Evan Hall and Goss tallied six apiece. Hall also grabbed four boards and swatted three shots. 

IUPUI will hit the road for back-to-back Horizon League games, beginning with a showdown at Green Bay on Thursday night (Jan. 17) at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+. That game can also be heard on IUPUIJags.com as Morgan Adcock (pxp) describes the action.