INDIANAPOLIS - Junior Marcus Burk tallied a game-high 33 points and classmate Jaylen Minnett notched a career-high 32 points, including his 1,000th career tally, as the Jaguars fell at home to Green Bay, 91-85, on the department's third annual 'Readers Are Leaders' game at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. 

Freshman Amari Davis paced five Green Bay (12-13, 7-5 HL) players in double-digits and JayQuan McCloud tossed in 20 points and six assists as the visiting Phoenix snapped a six-game losing streak against the Jaguars. 

Fueled by its sharp shooting backcourt, the Jaguars nearly erased a 25-point deficit as they piled up 58 points after halftime behind 51 percent shooting and 10 second half treys. 

"We fought until the end and that's all I can ask," head coach Byron Rimm II said. "They beat us on the glass and made more shots than we did in the first half, but we didn't quit and kept coming back at them. I liked our fight today and that we didn't back down. 

"Whenever you've got two guys like Burk and Jaylen, you're never really out of any game and our guys know that."

After Minnett tied the score at 11 all with a contested drive at the 12:49 mark, the Jaguars' offense went dry and the Phoenix buried the hosts in a flurry of threes and second chance opportunities. The Phoenix stroked three straight threes to quickly push the lead to 20-11 to spark what would eventually become a 26-1 run. By the time Minnett drilled a trey at the 5:40 mark to stop a span of more than seven minutes without a field goal, the Jags were down 25. Green Bay repeatedly sawed through the Jaguars' defense for easy trips down the lane, or kicked out to shooters who connected on 7-of-13 (54 percent) first half three-point attempts. On the rare occasion the Phoenix missed, they were quick to rebound and gather second chance points as Green Bay grabbed 10 first half offensive boards, converting them into 15 second chance points. 

After trailing 47-27 at the break, IUPUI opened the second half invigorated, playing in front of more than 2,000 raucous local third-graders. 

IUPUI (6-19, 2-10 HL) got back within 13 before the first media timeout of the second half as Burk went on a personal scoring binge, primarily from midrange. That opened the door for Minnett, who hit three threes in a span of 81 seconds to cut the Green Bay lead back to 58-51 with 12:51 to play. IUPUI missed four chances on a single offensive trip to make it a two-possession game and Green Bay fired back with a improbable Hunter Crist tip-in of a McCloud miss to stretch the lead back to nine. The tip-in ignited a stretch of seven straight points from the guests that ultimately pushed the lead back to 14. 

The Jaguars final run came late as Burk and Minnett teamed up on a 7-0 run with under four minutes to play, cutting the Green Bay lead back to 77-71. After making a three on the previous trip, Minnett scurried down the lane and rattled in a floater with 3:18 to play to make it a two-possession game. Green Bay repeatedly made its free throws late, even after Burk and Minnett connected on back-to-back threes in an eight second stretch, sandwiched around a Kameron Hankerson turnover against the Jaguars' full-court press. 

Burk and Minnett, who entered play leading the country in combined threes made, added 10 to their total as Minnett hit a career-high eight treys and Burk splashed a pair. Minnett became the 24th player in IUPUI history to accumulate 1,000 career points and the 16th player to achieve the mark in three seasons or less.

"I think it's a testament to all the hard work I've put in," Minnett said as he reflected on the moment after the game. "I did it in honor of my grandmother, who passed away earlier this season, and did it on her birthday."

Grant Weatherford added eight points, six assists and five boards and Elyjah Goss closed with four points and 14 rebounds. Freshman Taveion White added a much needed lift off the bench with five points, six rebounds and two blocked shots before fouling out. The Jaguars continued to play without the quartet of starter Isaiah Williams and reserves Jamil Jackson Jr., Zo Tyson and Jakoby Kemp. 

IUPUI will cap the two-game homestand on Saturday when the Jaguars host Milwaukee at noon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. That game will be aired on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Lance Scheib (analyst) describe the action.