INDIANAPOLIS - Graduate transfer B.J. Maxwell pumped in a season-high 19 points but it wasn't nearly enough as Oakland capitalized on a slew of IUPUI turnovers and coasted to a 78-45 victory inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Saturday (Dec. 4). The visiting Golden Grizzlies converted 23 IUPUI turnovers into 32 points and outscored the Jags 28-7 at the free throw line in a dominating performance.
Maxwell hit 8-of-18 shots and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in the loss to pace the Jaguars. Meanwhile, Jalen Moore had 15 points, six assists and three steals for the Golden Grizzlies and Jamal Cain added 14 points and eight boards in the victory. Both Micah Parrish and Trey Townsend also tallied 14 apiece as Oakland shot just 39.3 percent, but committed only eight turnovers.
"I think it was a mixture of both," head coach Matt Crenshaw said when asked about his team's inexperience combined against Oakland's length. "Even some of our more experienced guys turned the ball over.
"I think our tentativeness forced us into some turnovers, actually. When we made plays aggressively and stuck to the game plan, we actually did well at times. Their zone had some different looks at times and had us on our heels."
Oakland (7-2, 2-0 HL) surged out to a 13-6 lead, fueled by a 9-0 run after Maxwell had staked the Jaguars to an early 6-4 advantage. The Jags turned the ball over 17 times in the opening half, allowing the Golden Grizzlies to cash in on 23 points. By the time the dust settled at halftime, the Jags were in a 36-20 hole.
IUPUI put together a modest 7-0 run early in the second half to get within 15 as Mike DePersia converted a three-point play and then stuck back a Maxwell miss in amongst the trees on the Jaguars' next possession. After another defensive stand, KJ Pruitt went coast-to-coast and finished with a runner to make it 45-30 with 12:52 left.
However, that would be IUPUI's last field goal for the next five-plus minutes as Oakland scored the game's next 16 points, many of which came at the foul line. Oakland was in the bonus at the 11:38 mark of the second half while IUPUI didn't draw a seventh team foul on the Golden Grizzlies until the guests' bench had been emptied with 2:42 to play.
Moore was a perfect 10-of-10 at the stripe for the victors, earning as many attempts as the entire IUPUI team. Parrish was also flawless at the line at 7-of-7.
Maxwell's 19 points matched his career-high in Division I play as he also had a 19-point game at Abilene Christian back in January 2019. He has led IUPUI in scoring in all seven games in which he's played.
"I think we're still trying to identify ourselves," Crenshaw said. "B.J. Maxwell's got to show that he wants to be the lead horse and now we need to identify those second and third guys and right now, nobody has really taken that role and been consistent."
While IUPUI allowed a season-high 78 points, Crenshaw was still pleased with a defense that held Oakland below 40 percent shooting and 22 percent from three-point range.
"I think it starts with our defensive side, honestly. As I told our team after the game, (Oakland) shot 39 percent and 22 percent from three, which was even lower before they hit those three threes late in the game," Crenshaw said. "Defensively, we're actually playing solid.
"If we can not foul, get in transition and get some easy looks at the basket and not always having to play (offense) in the half court, it's going to help our offense.
IUPUI shot 35.3 percent and hit just 2-of-16 (12.5 percent) from three-point range. DePersia finished with nine points and four boards off the IUPUI bench and Pruitt added four points, six boards and four assists as the primary ball handler.
Freshman Chuks Isitua had four points and three boards before fouling out in 19 minutes of action.
The Jaguars will return to non-conference play on Friday, Dec. 10 when they head south to face Tennessee State as part of a home-and-home series. IUPUI defeated TSU in last season's opener inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Friday's game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and be aired on ESPN+.
