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DETROIT - The IUPUI basketball team came up on the wrong end of yet another close affair on Thursday night (Feb. 28) as the Jaguars dropped an 87-85 decision at Detroit Mercy inside historic Calihan Hall. Senior Josh McFolley led six Titans in double-digits with 23 points and freshman Antoine Davis added 20 while breaking Steph Curry's freshman record for threes in a season in the process. 

Junior Camron Justice paced five Jags in double-digits with 22 points and senior Evan Hall added 16 on 8-of-11 shooting. Sophomore Jaylen Minnett tossed in 12 and classmate Elyjah Goss had 11 points and seven boards off the bench while senior center Ahmed Ismail contributed 10 points and eight boards. 

IUPUI (16-14, 8-9 HL) shot 55 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range, but struggled to get stops at the other end. Detroit Mercy shot 50 percent overall and 35 percent from three, while turning the ball over just eight times. McFolley made two late treys, the second of which gave the Titans an 84-81 lead with 45 seconds to play. 

The Jags had chances, but ultimately lost for the fifth time in seven games with the defeats coming by a combined 13 points. IUPUI cut the lead back to one when Hall tipped in a Justice missed from the top of the key with 29 seconds left. With the shot clock off, IUPUI received a gift when McFolley threw an errant inbounds pass right to Justice, who immediately attacked the rim. The Jaguars' top scorer absorbed contact on his way to the basket, causing him to miss the layup. UDM's Marquise Moore grabbed the rebound, was immediately fouled and sank both free throws. 

Given an opportunity to tie, Minnett missed badly on a contested try from the corner with nine seconds left and UDM rebounded the miss to seal the game. 

"We gave ourselves a chance to win in the final minute on the road and that's really all you can ask for. Offensively, I thought we played well enough to win, but defensively, we just didn't get the stops when we needed them and we gave them way too many second chances," head coach Jason Gardner said. "When we did force them into tough shots, we didn't finish the possession by getting the rebound, especially in the first half. 

"Winning on the road is especially tough and we didn't get a whole lot of breaks, but you have to give them credit for making some shots down the stretch."

IUPUI trailed 43-36 at the half, but fought back to tie the score at 55 all midway through the second half. The Jags later took a 70-67 lead with 5:46 to play, thanks to a key stretch from Goss to cap a 6-0 run. His first bucket came when he picked off a Davis pass near midcourt and coasted the other way for a two-handed slam. Moments later, Minnett chased down a long rebound of a missed three and weaved through traffic to force up a wild attempt. Goss, hustling all the way, stuck back the offensive rebound, forcing a Titans' timeout. 

The two sides traded baskets down the stretch before McFolley's trey with 45 seconds gave the hosts the final lead of the night. 

Senior D.J. McCall harassed Davis into a 7-of-20 shooting night before fouling out in the closing minute. McFolley helped pick up the slack for his backcourt mate by hitting 9-of-15 overall and 3-of-6 from deep.

The IUPUI frontcourt of Hall and Ismail combined to hit 13-of-17 shots and Goss was an efficient 5-of-7 off the bench. Ultimately, the difference in the game was the foul line where the Titans outscored IUPUI 17-9. 

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