INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team put forth a strong defensive effort on Saturday night (Jan. 2), but couldn't find the range offensive as the Jaguars fell to Horizon League leader Cleveland State, 59-49. Senior Marcus Burk tallied a team-high 15 points and junior Azariah Seay scored all 14 of his points before halftime in the loss. Senior Elyjah Goss just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds and moved into second-place on the program's all-time rebounding list in the process. 

Tre Gomillion led Cleveland State (6-3, 6-0 HL) with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Torrey Patton chimed in with 12 points and six boards for the victors. 

Turnovers plagued the Jaguars throughout as their 21 miscues led to 26 CSU points. 

After the two sides played to a 28 all deadlock in the first half, CSU steadily build a 42-33 advantage early in the second half. The Jags struggled to connect from deep, missing six early attempts in the second stanza. Burk finally got the Jags going with back-to-back jumpers to cut the CSU lead back to five but Gomillion returned fire with five straight points of his own. 

Each time IUPUI pulled close, a turnover or missed shot derailed any momentum, allowing CSU to build on its perfect Horizon League start. 

"I think we're still trying to find our identity as a whole. I think it was just literally hitting shots on the offensive end," freshman Bakari LaStrap said. "We ran our (offensive) sets, but couldn't convert."

IUPUI, playing in the unfamiliar confines of the Jungle for the second time in an many days, shot just 37 percent overall and 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from three. Cleveland State was a more manageable 44 percent from the floor and 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from three. 

Senior Jaylen Minnett was held scoreless for just the second time in his collegiate career and first time since Jan. 27, 2018. His personal streak of consecutive games with a three came to a halt at 69 straight, ranking as the fifth-longest in NCAA Division I history and setting a new Horizon League record in the process. His personal offensive struggles on Saturday were a microcosm of the team's shooting woes. 

Burk, Seay and Goss teamed to hit 15-of-26 (58 percent) shots while the remainder of the IUPUI roster made just 4-of-26 attempts (15.4 percent). Seay was 6-of-9 and scored half of the Jaguars' 28 first half points, while Goss finished 4-of-5 from the floor and also had three steals. LaStrap closed with four points and a team-high four assists as IUPUI delivered 13 assists on 19 buckets. 

CSU won the glass 37-29 and outscored the hosts in the paint, 34-24. 

After falling behind 6-3 in the opening three minutes, IUPUI fired back with a 12-2 run, fueled by 10 points from Seay. Seay struck back-to-back jumpers before Gomillion briefly stopped the bleeding, but Seay came back with a fast break layup off a Bakari LaStrap assist. Moments later, Goss tipped out a missed shot to a wide open Seay for a wing three, making it 15-8 at the 11:04 mark. 

Seay later capped the Jaguars' first half scoring with a midrange jumper, but Gomillion made a fallaway jumper at the final horn to tie the score at the break. 

IUPUI is scheduled to continue the current homestand next week when the Jaguars host Horizon League newcomer Robert Morris on Friday (Jan. 8) and Saturday (Jan. 9) inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Both games are expected to tip-off at noon and be broadcast on ESPN+.