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ROCHESTER, Mich. - The IUPUI men's basketball team capped the regular season with a 72-63 loss at Oakland University on Saturday (Mar. 2) as the Golden Grizzlies roared past the Jags in the second half. Oakland shot 52 percent in the second half and 56 percent from three-point range to roll to a fourth straight win heading into the Horizon League Tournament. 

Senior center Ahmed Ismail recorded his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 boards and both Camron Justice and Jaylen Minnett pumped in 15 each also in the loss. Senior Evan Hall chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, becoming the ninth player in school history to grab 600 career boards in the process. 

"It was a really physical, prototypical-type Horizon League game," head coach Jason Gardner said. "I thought our guys did a good job of staying in the fight and scrapping all 40 minutes. It was a tough game both ways. 

"They made shots in the second half and we kind of went cold, especially with Cam on the bench. More than anything, we just have to regroup now and have a quick turnaround on the road against another good team. That's what the postseason is all about."

Justice missed a significant stretch of the second half after sustaining a gash on his forehead on a drive to the bucket, as he left a trail of blood heading to end of the bench. With the Jags' top scorer sidelined, Oakland extended a one-point lead early in the second half to an eight-point margin by the time he returned. 

IUPUI (16-15, 8-10 HL) shot just 41 percent for the game as a whistle free second half finally pushed Gardner to a boiling point late in the contest. After Oakland was only called for two personal fouls in more than 16 minutes in the second half, Gardner was assessed a technical foul heading into the day's final media timeout and his team trailing by eight. Oakland cashed in on all four ensuing free throws to end any suspense. 

Xavier Hill-Mais led five Oakland players in double-digits with 14 points and seven boards and Brad Brechting chipped in 13 points. Braden Norris closed with 12 points and nine assists in 38 minutes and Jaevin Cumberland finished with 12 points. 

IUPUI used the three-point line early to build a 16-7 lead at the 11:53 mark of the first half after Minnett splashed a connection from the right wing. That came on the heels of back-to-back makes from Justice, the second of which came on a pull-up on a fast break. Ismail had the Jags' first perimeter make of the day when the 7-foot-1 center sank an uncontested top of the key three early in the half for his fourth trey of the season. The Jags maintained the lead for the bulk of the first half until Hill-Mais swished a triple from the top of the key with 59 seconds left to tie the score at 31 all. 

Minnett countered with a tough step back jumper on the Jags' final offensive possession of the half to give the guests a 33-31 halftime lead. 

IUPUI finished with a 36-26 rebounding advantage, including grabbing 13 off the offensive glass as the Jags led in second chance points, 13-5. 

IUPUI will now hit the road for the quarterfinals round of the Horizon League Tournament to face top-seeded Wright State on Tuesday night (Mar. 5) at 8:00 p.m. inside the Nutter Center. WSU swept the regular season series with the Jaguars this season.