INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team put on an offensive clinic inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Friday (Feb. 12), scoring a season-high 89 points and shooting 57 percent from the field in rolling past UIC, 89-69. Senior Marcus Burk hit 15-of-20 shots and finished with a season-high 36 points and sophomore point guard Mike DePersia tied the IUPUI single-game record with 14 assists in the win. 

Jaylen Minnett pumped in 22 points, including hitting five threes, and Elyjah Goss tied the program's Division I record with a fifth straight double-double, closing with a season-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. 

Teyvion Kirk paced UIC (8-10, 5-8 HL) with 19 points, six assists and five boards and Maurice Commander added 15 points, all in the second half.

"I really think it was our defense that led to the offense. We played great defense throughout the whole game and that led to easy points in transition and us being able to get the rebound and push the ball," Burk said. "I just feel like we're a much better team when we can get out and push the ball."

The Jags' (6-8, 5-8 HL) defense held UIC scoreless for nearly six minutes to close the first half while reeling off an 8-0 run. Minnett hit a long three as the shot clock expired to spark the run and then Goss scored in close to push the lead to seven. It extended to 10 when Minnett swished three straight free throws after drawing a foul from behind the arc. 

The Jags continued to fire on all cylinders to open the second half as Burk hit a pair of free throws before both he and Minnett connected on triples on consecutive trips. Burk's connection was a long range hoist in transition that push the lead to 16.

"(Making shots) definitely gets us going," Burk said. "It gets everyone hyped on the bench and just gets our offense more energized. Then everyone wants to move and cut without the ball, so making those tough shots really helps our team energy." 

UIC closed within eight, but the Jags countered with an 11-0 run midway through the second half to extend to a 23-point advantage. Goss punctuated that rally with back-to-back dunks off assists from Minnett and DePersia to commandeer any thoughts of a Flames comeback. 

IUPUI shot 66 percent from the field in the second half and closed the game 11-of-20 (55 percent) from three-point range against one of the nation's stingiest defensive teams against the three. Minnett hit 5-of-7 from deep and Burk was 4-of-5. Sophomore Nathan McClure made his lone three-point attempt and Azariah Seay added a make off the Jaguars' bench. 

In addition to the perimeter success, the Jags also won the glass 31-24 and both teams scored 36 points in the paint. While both teams committed 15 turnovers, IUPUI outscored the Flames 20-11 in points off turnovers. Burk had a game-high three steals and Seay added a pair of takeaways in just 10 minutes. 

Burk, Minnett and Goss combined to score 78 of the team's 89 points while DePersia tied the program's single-game assist record of 14, which was set by Johnny Miller in 2005. The Jaguars' point guard also extended his personal streak to 169 straight minutes without a turnover while delivering 26 assists during that span. 

Minnett moved to No. 11 on IUPUI's all-time scoring list, upping his all-time total to 1,354 points while Burk closed in on 1,000 in an IUPUI uniform, ending the day at 978 with the Jaguars. 

The win stopped the Jaguars' four-game losing streak to UIC. 

IUPUI will cap the two-game set with the Flames on Saturday (Feb. 13) at noon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action.