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HUNTINGTON, W.V. - It was a seemingly fitting ending to the IUPUI basketball team's 2018-19 season as the Jaguars dropped a 78-73 road decision at Marshall in the opening round of the CIT on Tuesday night (Mar. 19). The Jaguars clawed back from a 15-point second half deficit to make it a one possession game, but misfired on a potential game tying three on their final offensive possession in falling to the Herd in the opener. 

C.J. Burks led Marshall (20-14) with 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting and Jon Elmore was named game MVP after pumping in 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while becoming the Thundering Herd's all-time leading scorer early in the second half. 

Junior guard Camron Justice led four IUPUI players in double-digits, registering his first career double-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Senior D.J. McCall added 13 points, eight boards and three steals in his final collegiate game and sophomore Elyjah Goss came off the IUPUI (16-17) bench to contribute 11 points and eight rebounds on a perfect shooting night (4-4 FG, 3-3 FT). Sophomore Jaylen Minnett, who made his lone start of the season in place of an injured Evan Hall, tallied 10 points on just 3-of-17 shooting. IUPUI outshot and outrebounded Marshall, but committed 18 turnovers in a game played at a breakneck pace, which contributed to the demise. 

"I thought we came in here and played really hard and fought the whole 40 minutes," head coach Jason Gardner said. "We were thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to play in the postseason and I think our guys responded by playing a pretty good game. We forced a couple things and missed some shots, but you have to give Marshall credit. Their guys made plays late when they needed them and that was the difference."

IUPUI seemingly had a 41-40 halftime lead after Justice drilled a 30-footer at the final horn, but after the halftime break, the shot was eventually waved off after the teams returned to the floor. Elmore then fired in two quick treys to start the second half, taking what seemed to be a one-point halftime advantage and turning it into a 46-38 Marshall lead. Elmore was only getting started too as he stroked two more treys before the first media timeout of the second half, giving him 12 points in just more than three minutes after he was held to just five points before halftime. He later scored on a three-point play as part of a 12-2 Marshall run that pushed a lead out to 70-55 with 10:07 to play. 

Gardner rallied his troops and freshman Jack Hansen capped a 13-2 run with a trey to cut Marshall's lead back to 72-68 with 4:29 remaining. IUPUI crept within two in the closing minutes when Justice got all the way to the tin for a contested layup with 1:21 remaining. Burks drew a foul with 44 seconds left and hit the first of a one-and-one, before missing the second. However, Marshall's Taevion Kinsey, who had already put on a show with a bevy of dunks throughout the evening, swooped in to snare the offensive board among a pack of Jaguars. Given the fresh shot clock, Marshall drained time before Elmore misfired on a 17-footer with 20 seconds to play. 

Given one final look, Minnett got free on the left wing in front of his own bench, but came up empty on a triple in the closing seconds. 

"Honestly, we got a good look, it just didn't go down," Gardner said of his team's final play.

The game was a track meet from the opening tip, much to the liking of the hosts. IUPUI obliged, and with Hall sidelined, loaded up with guards to keep pace with the Herd. Marshall built a 23-13 lead when Elmore buried a wide open three from the corner, but IUPUI fired back with a 14-4 rally to tie the score at 27 all for one of the nine first half ties. 

IUPUI closed the game shooting 45 percent from the field and 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) from three-point range. Marshall finished at 42 percent overall and 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from deep. The most majestic of Marshall's three-point makes was a late hit from 6-foot-9, 350-pound forward Iran Bennett late in the first half to tie the game at 36 all after Minnett had given the Jags a brief three-point lead. 

The Jags graduate three seniors off this year's team and expect immediate contributions from a pair of transfers - Marcus Burk and Jamil Jackson - next season. 

"I think we addressed our outside shooting with some of the guys who are sitting out, because that was something we struggled with a little bit this year," Gardner said. "We're excited to get those guys in the rotation with some of the guys we have coming back.

"We lose a guy like D.J. who I've had for five years and who's been nothing but a leader on the court and in weights and in everything he does."