ROCHESTER, Mich. - Junior Marcus Burk fired in a career-high 39 points and classmate Jaylen Minnett chimed in with 30 as the IUPUI basketball team outlasted Oakland, 89-85 in overtime inside OU's Athletics Center O'rena on Saturday (Jan. 25). The duo combined to hit 14 threes as IUPUI won in Rochester for the first time since 2006, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Golden Grizzlies inside the O'rena. 

Burk outpaced his previous career-high by six points while Minnett finished one point shy of matching his career-high and became just the fifth player in program history to surpass 200 career threes in an IUPUI uniform. 

"We knew we were both hot, so we were definitely looking for the hot hand," Burk said. "It was a great game. We got the win and that's really all that matters."

Grant Weatherford contributed seven points, a career-high 13 rebounds and four assists while Elyjah Goss contributed two points and 18 boards before fouling out early in overtime. Sophomore Brandon Kenyon took advantage of his first career start with seven points, including a key layup in the game's final minutes. 

In overtime, IUPUI (6-16, 2-7 HL) went ahead 84-80 with 2:15 left on a Burk trey before OU's Xavier Hill-Mais scored in close at the other end. The Jags decided to drain the shot clock, but misfired on a contested triple, giving Oakland possession with 56.4 seconds left. The Jags came up with a key defensive stand when Kenyon walled up against OU's Brad Brechting on the right block, forcing the Oakland big man to dribble off his foot out of bounds. 

Oakland (7-15, 2-7 HL) continued to focus their defense on Burk and Minnett, so on the ensuing possession, Weatherford blew past Hill-Mais and dropped a pass off to Kenyon for an easy layup and a four-point lead with 22.5 seconds. The Jags forced a miss three and Minnett extended the lead to six at the free throw line with 13.1 seconds left to help secure the win. 

"I was definitely just waiting on my opportunity," Minnett said after scoring 24 of his 30 after halftime. "I just wasn't feeling it in the first half and I just didn't get myself going, but Burk had it going, so he was the key focus of our offense. I just tried to do my part in the second half."

Minnett more than did his part as his Jags were in position to get the win in regulation after a nearly impossible three with 5:38 left put the Jags ahead 70-64. Oakland fired back with the game's next six points to tie the score with 2:30 left, but Minnett countered with a tough baseline jumper, followed by his shushing the raucous OU crowd as he retreated on defense. The Jags got a defensive stand when Goss rebounded a Kevin Kangu miss and after milking the shot clock, Minnett was fouled while attempting a long three. Minnett drained the first two of the three free throws with 1:18 to play, giving the Jaguars seemingly a two-possession lead. However, Oakland got it all back in one trip when Rashad Williams was fouled as he banked in a wing three with 1:04 left. 

Minnett missed a contested three with 40 seconds left, but the Jags countered with a key stop of its own when Hill-Mais missed a short jumper and Goss went high in traffic to secure the rebound. However, Minnett misfired again on a 30-footer as time expired, sending the game to overtime. 

IUPUI finished with a season-high 15 threes, hitting at a 44 percent clip against the Oakland defense. Burk was 8-of-15 and Minnett hit 6-of-14, while Kenyon had the only other make of the game. Oakland finished at 34.7 percent from the floor and 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) from three, but did major damage at the free throw line, outscoring IUPUI 24-14 at the stripe. IUPUI won the glass, 54-38, and delivered 20 assists on 30 buckets. 

Hill-Mais led five Oakland players in double-digits with 20 points and eight boards and Williams, playing in just his fourth game of the season, had 18 points and five made threes. Blake Lampman contributed 12 points and Tray Maddox Jr. scored 11. Brechting had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but was held to just 3-of-11 shooting in close. 

Burk almost single-handedly clicked off an 11-4 run early in the contest to stake IUPUI to a 16-10 lead. The fired in three free throws after being fouled behind the arc, then connected on back-to-back treys. Moments later, he connected with Goss on a dive to the bucket for an easy layup and a six-point lead. IUPUI led by as many as seven on multiple occasions, including with 1:47 left when Burk split a pair of free throws. However, Oakland closed the half with seven straight points, five coming at the free throw line, to knot the score at 33 all. 

Oakland was limited to just 8-of-33 shooting (24.2 percent) from the field, but cashed in on 13-of-15 free throw attempts as four different Jaguars were whistled for at least two fouls before the break. Burk finished the half with 18 points, connecting on four first half triples.  

"I did a good job of moving around the floor and everybody did a good job sharing the ball," Burk said. "In the huddle before the game, we were talking about when we get the rebound, lets push and get in transition because we knew their bigs would be under the basket and wouldn't be able to get back (on defense) in time."

The win was just IUPUI's fourth ever in Rochester in 22 contests. 

IUPUI will be back in action next Thursday night (Jan. 30) when the Jaguars hit the road to face Cleveland State at 7:00 p.m. inside CSU's Wolstein Center. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.