GREEN BAY, Wisc. - The IUPUI basketball team was unable to complete a two-game road sweep at Green Bay on Saturday (Feb. 6) as the Jaguars fell to the host Phoenix, 79-72 inside the Kress Center. IUPUI battled back from a 23-point halftime deficit to cut the lead to six in the closing minute, but ultimately succumbed on a day in which it shot just 38 percent from the floor. 

The Jaguars senior trio of Marcus Burk, Elyjah Goss and Jaylen Minnett continued to shoulder the load, combining to score 53 of the team's 72 points in the loss. Minnett had a game-high 21 points and six assists before fouling out in the closing minute while Burk scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and grabbed seven boards, but was also disqualified. Goss registered his fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 12 boards, surpassing the 800 career rebound mark in the process.

Green Bay outscored IUPUI 35-11 at the free throw line as the Jags were whistled for 29 fouls to the host's 15 fouls. The Jags helped offset the deficit by connecting on 11-of-32 (34.4 percent) attempts from three-point range while holding Green Bay to just 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) from deep. 

IUPUI (5-8, 4-8 HL) led 8-7 in the early going, but Green Bay sped away with an 18-2 run over the next six minutes to bury the Jags in a 25-10 rut. Bobby Harvey stopped the run by swishing a three, but the Phoenix continued to pile on and led 41-18 at the half. The Jaguars made just 7-of-23 (22.6 percent) first half field goal attempts and Minnett was the lone IUPUI player with more than one make. 

The Green Bay lead was still larger than 20 at the midpoint of the second half before the Jags feverishly climbed back late. Burk scored five points in succession on the heels of a Goss layup to make it 63-53 with 5:46 left. IUPUI pulled within nine with 2:53 to play when Burk stuck a short jumper. 

After Green Bay's P.J. Pipes made a pair of free throws, Nathan McClure cut the lead back to eight when he rattled home a wing three. IUPUI had two cracks to make it a two-possession game with just under two minutes to play, but Burk missed an initial three-point attempt and Minnett came up empty on a runner after grabbing the offensive board. 

Some late makes from Mike DePersia and Azariah Seay in a five second span in the final minute made it a two possession game before the Phoenix iced the game at the line. 

Pipes led Green Bay (6-14, 6-10 HL) with 20 points and four assists while hitting 15-of-16 free throw attempts. Emmanuel Ansong added 18 points and nine boards and Amari Davis had 13 points. Josh Jefferson contributed 12 off the Green Bay bench, including hitting all six of his foul shots. 

Minnett was 8-of-23 overall and hit three threes while Burk shot 5-of-16 from the floor. Goss recorded his sixth double-double of the year and 21st of his collegiate career while hitting 5-of-10 of his shot attempts. McClure contributed six points on a pair of late treys and DePersia finished with five points and six rebounds. 

The loss snapped the Jaguars' four-game road winning streak versus the Phoenix since joining the Horizon League in 2017. 

IUPUI will return to action next week when they host UIC for a two-game series. The two teams will face off on Friday (Feb. 12) and Saturday (Feb. 13) with both games tipping at noon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Both can be seen on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action.