IUPUI (16-13, 8-8) at Detroit Mercy (10-18. 7-9)
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 - 8:00 p.m.
Live Video:	ESPN+
Live Stats:	Click Here
Series:	IUPUI leads 2-1
Last Meeting:	Jan. 26, 2019
Game Notes:	Click Here

DETROIT - The IUPUI basketball team will hit the road one final time in regular season play, beginning with Thursday's game at Detroit Mercy (10-18, 7-9 HL) at 8:00 p.m. inside UDM's Calihan Hall. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

IUPUI (16-13, 8-8 HL) comes in on a two-game winning streak after back-to-back wins over Milwaukee and Green Bay. The victories helped punch a ticket to the upcoming Horizon League Tournament and the Jaguars can still finish as high as No. 3 in the league standings and as low as No. 8. The top four seeds will have the opportunity to host quarterfinals round games on Mar. 5-6 with the victors heading to Detroit for Motor City Madness on Mar. 11-12. 

The Jags used the three-point line to roll past Green Bay as the duo of Grant Weatherford (21 pts, 5-6 3's) and Camron Justice (18 pts, 4-6 3's) did the work on the outside while Evan Hall (11 pts, 10 reb) conducted his business in the middle. IUPUI used a late run to surge past the Phoenix while holding the hosts to just 37 percent shooting after halftime. 

IUPUI remains one of the nation's top rebounding teams, outrebounding foes by 5.2 caroms per game to rank 34th nationally. 

HL STANDINGS (as of 2/27/2019):
1. Wright State (12-4)
2. Northern Kentucky (11-5)
t-3. Green Bay (9-7)
t-3. UIC (9-7)
t-3. Oakland (9-7)
6. IUPUI (8-8)
7. Youngstown State (8-9)
8. Detroit Mercy (7-9)
9. Milwaukee (4-12)
10. Cleveland State (4-13)  

QUOTABLE: "It felt good for us to really execute and play well offensively, but honestly, the difference in the game was our defensive intensity down the stretch. I thought we really got after them defensively and strung together some stops to help us get a lead. We did a good job of finishing them off and that was the difference. I'm really proud of this group of seniors because they're the first that I really recruited as freshmen and they've just continued to work and fight and get better and better," Gardner said after Sunday's win over Green Bay. 

UP NEXT: IUPUI will cap the two-game road trip at Oakland University on Saturday (Mar. 2) at 4:00 p.m. inside the Athletics Center O'rena. That game will be broadcast on ESPN3.      

QUICK NOTES (click here to access the full notes for Thursday's game): 
    JAGS ROLL OVER GREEN BAY ON SENIOR DAY, 79-68
    The IUPUI basketball team used a strong second half and knocked down 11 treys as the Jaguars capped the regular season home slate with an impressive 79-68 victory over Green Bay on Sunday (Feb. 24). Sophomore Grant Weatherford pumped in a season-high 21 points, including 5-of-6 from three, while junior Camron Justice finished with 18 points. Senior Evan Hall, playing in his final regular season home game, notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds as IUPUI (16-13, 8-8 HL) dominated the Phoenix on the glass, 45-26. 
    ShanQuan Hemphill led three Phoenix in double-figures with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting and Sandy Cohen III finished with 16 points, eight boards and four assists in the loss. JayQuan McCloud added 11 points in defeat. 
    IUPUI cranked up the defense late to turn a 62 all tie into a 73-64 advantage with 3:50 left. Senior Ahmed Ismail kickstarted the attack with a three-point play and D.J. McCall followed with one of his own after Hall rebounded a Weatherford miss. Moments later, Justice buried a key three with the shot clock winding down to stake the Jags to a seven-point lead. After Weatherford intercepted a Cohen pass, Hall scored in close off a well placed lob pass from Justice. IUPUI closed down the Phoenix from there, never letting the guests closer than seven over the final four-plus minutes.
    Below are more notes from Sunday's game:
    -Weatherford had made just five treys all season long before making five in the win over Green Bay. The Jaguars' 11 threes made matched the team's most in a game this season, doing so in 20 attempts (55 percent).
    -Justice played without his protective mask for the first time since suffering an injury on Feb. 3 and responded with 18 points, including 4-of-6 from three. 
    -IUPUI played just seven players in the win as the starting five logged the majority of the minutes and Jaylen Minnett (8 pts, 4 ast) and Elyjah Goss (6 pts, 4 reb) combined to play 43 minutes off the bench. 
    -All five IUPUI starters had at least three assists in the win as IUPUI had 22 assists against just 12 turnovers. 
    -Senior D.J. McCall was honored with the Mel Garland Basketball Award prior to the game as part of the senior day ceremonies.

    MILESTONES
    -The UIC game marked the 150th game of Jason Gardner's IUPUI career. 
    -Senior Evan Hall became the 15th player in IUPUI history to grab 500 career rebounds at UIC (Jan. 4). Fellow senior D.J. McCall followed in line as the 16th in school history to hit the number against Wright State (Feb. 3).
    -Senior D.J. McCall delivered his 200th career assist against UIC (Feb. 9).
    -Sophomore Jaylen Minnett hit his 100th career three in the win over Detroit Mercy (Jan. 26). He tallied his 500th career point against UIC (Feb. 9).
    -The game at Green Bay was Evan Hall's 100th career game played. 
    -Elyjah Goss grabbed his 250th career rebound at Milwaukee.
    -Fifth-year senior D.J. McCall played his 2,500th career minute at NKU. 

    STREAKS
    -Minnett has made a three in an IUPUI D1 record 32 straight games, dating back to last season. His streak is one of the nation's eight longest streaks for consecutive games with a triple.  
    -Senior D.J. McCall has started 56 straight games, dating back to last season.      

    NEW FIVE
    For just the third time this season, IUPUI used a new starting five at Youngstown State on Feb. 14 due to an injury to Elyjah Goss. 
    Senior center Ahmed Ismail (12.3 pts, 7.8 reb, 70.4 FG%) has filled in admirably in his four most recent starts, getting the nod in Goss' stead. Ismail also started the season opener in place of an injured Evan Hall. 
    Otherwise, the quintet of Camron Justice, D.J. McCall, Grant Weatherford, Goss and Hall has started 23 times this year. 

    INDICATORS
    As the season wears on, three trends have become indicators as to how IUPUI will fare.  
    1.) IUPUI is 14-1 this season when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent. That number has been consistent under Gardner as IUPUI is 58-9 (.866) in his five seasons when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent. 
    2.) IUPUI is now 11-1 this season when holding opponents to 70 points or less. In IUPUI wins, IUPUI holds foes to 41 percent and an average of 67.7 points per game. In IUPUI losses, foes are shooting 49 percent and scoring 80 points per game. 
    3.) IUPUI is 15-5 this season when outrebounding opponents and 1-8 when being outrebounded or rebounds are equal. 

    GLASS EATERS
    IUPUI has been strong on the glass all year long, outrebounding foes by a league-high 5.2 rebounds per game to rank 34th in the nation. However, the Jags have been particularly impressive on the glass in league play with a league best +6.8  margin in Horizon League games. 
    IUPUI has outrebounded its opponent by 10 or more boards 10 times this season, including seven times in Horizon League play. 

    DO IT INSIDE
    Bucking the national trend, IUPUI relies heavily on the interior for points this season. The Jags average 34.2 points per game in the paint and also rank among the nation's leaders in free throws made and attempted. 
    In league play, IUPUI is hitting just 6.8 treys per game while four Horizon League teams hit 9-or-more 3's per game in league play. 

    HEAVY HITTERS
    IUPUI opened conference play with arguably the toughest opening schedule in Horizon League history, taking on the top three picks in the league's preseason polls, all on the road. The trio of Wright State, Northern Kentucky and UIC collected 39 of the 40 possible first-place votes and easily separated from the second tier of selections. 
    The Jaguars dropped the first two of the three-game stretch, losing at Northern Kentucky and Wright State, before rebounding to win at UIC last Friday (Jan. 4).

    HE GO, WE GO - JUSTICE NOTES
    In this instance, 'he' being Camron Justice. IUPUI is 9-4 this season when Justice scores 20-or-better. Justice was the first IUPUI player to score 20-or-more in four straight games since Jan. 14-28, 2012 when Alex Young went for 27-27-26-22 in a four-game span.
    -The Kentucky-native has led IUPUI in scoring in 18 of 29 games and scored in double-digits in 27 of the Jaguars' 29 games. 

    TURN BACK THE CLOCK
    IUPUI got a skosh younger over the holiday break in terms of years of eligibility remaining. Grant Weatherford was awarded a clock extension from the NCAA in December, allowing him a sixth year in which to complete his four playing seasons - thus making him a sophomore eligibility-wise. IUPUI Associate AD for Compliance Laura Hue took the lead on applying for the successful waiver. 

    CLASS ACTS
    Nine Jaguars were named to the department's Academic Advisor's List for the fall semester for earning a 3.0 GPA or better - Daniel Alston, Elyjah Goss, Jack Hansen, Jamil Jackson, Trevor Johnson, Jakoby Kemp, Brandon Kenyon, D.J. McCall and Grant Weatherford. Hansen notched a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester. 
    McCall and Weatherford were also named to the Horizon League's Academic Honor Roll.  

    BEST START SINCE...
    The Jags' 8-3 start was the program's best start in head coach Jason Gardner's five seasons and best start since the 2009-10 season. That squad  finished 25-11 overall and earned a spot in the CBI that season. This marks the first time Gardner has had IUPUI above .500 beyond the fourth game of any of his five seasons.

    ROLLING ON DUBS
    IUPUI has points-rebounds double-doubles from three different players this season as Elyjah Goss, Evan Hall and Ahmed Ismail have all pulled the trick. For perspective, IUPUI hasn't had three different players get double-doubles in a season since 2013-14 when four different players registered at least one (Marcellus Barksdale, Donovan Gibbs, Khufu Najee & Mitch Patton).  

    BLOW OUT THE CANDLES
    Head coach Jason Gardner celebrated his 38th birthday in style, collecting his 50th career head coaching win at Boston College on November 14. The win was the Jaguars' first over an ACC opponent since 2001 and first over a Power 5 school since winning at Seton Hall in 2009. 
    Gardner is third on the program's all-time wins list at 60, but is a far cry from the top two in program history. Current Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter (275) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (195) own the top two spots in program history. 

    SHARING THE WEALTH
    IUPUI has had nine different players have hit for 10-or-more points at least once this season. Nick Rogers became the most recent player to tally double-digits, joining a group that includes Elyjah Goss, Evan Hall, Jack Hansen, Ahmed Ismail, Camron Justice, D.J. McCall, Jaylen Minnett and Grant Weatherford.   

    HOT BENCH
    A staple under head coach Jason Gardner has been his teams' bench scoring as the IUPUI leader likes to play 9-10 players and use his bench frequently. Gardner's teams have matched or outscored the opposition's bench in 114 of 154 games (74 percent), including 22 of 29 games this season. All total, the IUPUI bench is averaging 26 points per game this season and outscoring opponents' benches by 6.5 points per game. The Jags' bench scored a season-high 66 points in the win over IU Northwest.