INDIANAPOLIS - Visiting Wright State hit eight first half threes and buried IUPUI in a 26-point first half hole that the Jaguars could never fully emerge from as the Raiders ousted the Jaguars, 84-70 inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Friday night (Jan. 10). Bill Wampler tallied a game-high 26 points for the victors, hitting 10-of-11 field goal attempts and all five of his tries from beyond the arc. Loudon Love added 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots and Tanner Holden closed with 10 points, seven boards and seven assists before fouling out. 

Junior Jaylen Minnett scored a team-high 24 points and classmate Marcus Burk chipped in 17 in the loss. Grant Weatherford added 12 points and five rebounds and Elyjah Goss contributed 14 rebounds, including 12 off the defensive glass and his 500th career rebound.  

"The thing I'm most proud of is that we never quit," head coach Byron Rimm II said. "We never gave in. We kept after them for the whole 40 minutes. We could have easily packed it in after that first half, but we kept fighting the whole way."

Wright State (15-3, 5-0 HL), which remained undefeated on the road this season, shot 42 percent from the floor, but held IUPUI to just 33 percent overall and 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) from three-point range. The Raiders outrebounded the Jaguars by a 48-38 margin and outscored IUPUI 32-22 in the paint. 

After a sluggish start, IUPUI pulled even at 11 all at the 13:40 mark of the first half when Minnett hit a three in transition off a find from Mike DePersia to extend his personal streak to 54 straight games with at least one triple. However, Wright State countered with quick back-to-back threes from Trey Calvin and Holden to prompt Byron Rimm II to call timeout. Out of the timeout, Wampler splashed a three and Holden followed with two free throws after collecting a steal near midcourt to push the Raiders' lead to 22-11. Wampler later extended the run to 15-0 when he drilled his third three of the game near the midpoint of the half. 

The Raiders accelerated to a 46-20 advantage late in the half when James Manns hit a line drive wing three and ultimately closed the half with a 53-31 advantage. 

IUPUI (5-13, 1-4 HL) tried to claw back into the contest, getting within 12 as it started the second half by outscoring the Raiders 16-6 in the opening five-plus minutes. Burk had two early treys and Weatherford chipped in a pair of buckets in close to keep IUPUI within striking distance. However, Wampler fired back with a trey and Love followed with a layup to push the guest's lead back to 17. As both teams jockeyed for position in the second half, the whistle became the story of the second stanza as the two teams combined to shoot 39 free throws after halftime. 

IUPUI closed 27-of-40 (67.5 percent) from the foul line as Burk was a perfect 7-of-7 and Minnett went 7-of-9. 

DePersia finished with six points, all from the foul line, and four rebounds, and Dayton-native Isaiah Williams had four points and two rebounds in 20 foul plagued minutes. Redshirt freshman Marlon Taylor netted his first collegiate basket in the game's closing minutes on an offensive putback. 

The loss dropped IUPUI to 3-14 all-time against Wright State as the Raiders extended their winning streak to four-in-a-row over the Jags. 

IUPUI will continue the three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 12) when the Jaguars host Northern Kentucky at 2:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. That contest will be aired on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action. Tickets are available via TicketMaster or at the Coliseum box office during normal business hours. As part of First Responders Day, any certified first responders can redeem two FREE tickets at the box office on Sunday with a valid ID.