CHICAGO - The IUPUI men's basketball team dropped another close affair as the Jaguars came up on the short side of a 77-72 defeat at UIC on Saturday evening (Feb. 22). The most recent result was a tale of twisted whistles and missed free throws as the Jaguars connected on just 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) at the foul line, including 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) in the second half. 

Marcus Burk paced four Jaguars in double-digits with 28 points and six assists and Jaylen Minnett finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. In addition, Minnett became just the second player in school history to make at least 100 treys in a single season, doing so with a late make.

Grant Weatherford contributed 15 points, four rebounds and four assists and Elyjah Goss had his 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 18 rebounds. Goss, playing in front of a sizable contingent of friends and family members, became IUPUI's single-season rebound leader, upping his total to 340 on the season. With his 11th double-double, the Illinois-native moved to the second most double-doubles in a season during the Jaguars' Division I era, trailing only Odell Bradley's 12 from 2003-04. 

And while there were numerous positives, it was the missed free throws and seventh straight defeat that left the sour taste in the Jaguars' mouths.  

After a wretched start, IUPUI (6-23, 2-14 HL) was in the fight throughout, but seemingly unable to get over the hump. The Jaguars tied the game at 60 all with 5:24 to play when Weatherford scored on a fast break after a nice find from Burk. The Jags tied the game again at 62 all with 4:36 left when Goss scored in close, but IUPUI continued to chase the game. 

UIC's Tarkus Ferguson pumped in an old fashioned three-point play to keep the hosts in front until Minnett clanged in a trey with 3:22 remaining. The teams traded free throws before Ferguson scored another three-point play to give the hosts the lead for good. Weatherford cut it to one with a drive, but Marcus Ottey fired back with a corner three to push the UIC (14-15, 9-7 HL) lead to four. 

After Minnett split a pair of foul shots, IUPUI got a much needed stop when Ferguson was called for an illegal screen against Burk. On the ensuing trip, Burk was fouled and hit both freebies to make it a one-point game. Even after Ferguson capped his 11-point, seven-assist game with a short jumper, IUPUI had a chance but Burk came up well short on a contested three from the left side. 

IUPUI outshot UIC, connecting on 42.6 percent overall while holding the Flames to just over 41 percent. However, the difference in the game was the foul line as the two teams had nearly identical attempts, but UIC outscored the guests 19-13. 

Ottey led UIC with 16 points and Jamie Ahale added 15 on a perfect 5-of-5 effort from beyond the arc. Braelen Bridges tallied 12 points, largely in close. 

The IUPUI quartet of Burk, Minnett, Weatherford and Goss contributed for all but four of the team's points as both Zo Tyson and Mike DePersia added two each. Taveion White was the only other IUPUI player to see time as he closed with two boards, a steal and an assist in 16 minutes of action. 

IUPUI fell behind 10-0 to open the game and was held off the scoreboard until Burk splashed a three at the 15:24 mark. UIC pushed the lead to 21-7 when Jamie Ahale drilled a corner three with 11:54 left in the half, but IUPUI fired back by stacking up defensive stops. The Jags rifled off a 10-0 run and outscored UIC 15-2 over a six-plus minute stretch, aided by a Ferguson technical foul that resulted in four made free throws. 

UIC used a mini 6-0 run late in the half to rebuild a seven-point lead before Burk hit a pull-up jumper on the final possession made it 35-30 at the break. 

Burk finished the game 9-of-20 from the floor and 4-of-9 from three-point range. He was also 6-of-8 from the line and delivered his six assists against just one turnover. As a team, IUPUI had 17 assists and just nine turnovers as both Weatherford and DePersia had four assists each. 

The loss gave UIC a season sweep of the series as the Jags fell to 1-8 all-time against the Flames. 

IUPUI will return home to open its final two-game homestand of the regular season on Thursday, Feb. 27 when the Jaguars host Oakland University at 7:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action. That game will be both Favorite Professor Night and International Student Night at the Coliseum.