INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will host Franklin College at noon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Saturday (Nov. 19) for its 2022-2023 home opener. Saturday's game is Military Appreciation Day at the Coliseum as individuals with a valid military ID may receive up to four tickets at the box office on the day of the game. In addition, selected active and retired military personnel will be honored throughout the day. 

On the court, a home game comes at an opportune time as the Jaguars try to snap a three-game skid to open the year. IUPUI (0-3) was upended at Chicago State earlier this week, 66-56, despite a career-high 17 points from sophomore Jlynn Counter and a first career double-double from Chris Osten (15 pts, 12 reb). The Jaguars were foiled by CSU's hot shooting in the second half as the Cougars made 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from three after halftime after making just one first half trey. IUPUI led 26-24 at intermission, but was outscored 44-32 after the break. 

Counter hit 6-of-14 shots for his career-high 17 points and Osten was 6-of-9 from the floor, tallying 15 points. Freshman Vincent Brady II hit a career-high three threes to account for his nine points and classmate Amhad Jarrard closed with eight points. 

For the season, Counter leads the team in scoring (13.7 ppg), assists (1.7 apg), minutes (27.7 mpg) and free throws made (13). Osten, a graduate transfer, checks in at 7.0 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game and Brady is third on the team in scoring at 6.7 points per contest and has a team-high five treys. 

IUPUI has started the season short-handed as junior Bryce Monroe has yet to make his season debut while freshman DJ Jackson and junior Cooper Dewitt missed the game at Chicago State as well. 

QUOTABLE
"We're excited to finally be playing at home. We've faced three tough opponents on the road in tough environments and we're better now than we were two weeks ago. That said, we still have work to do it's been good to be home and to get some good practices in. I think our guys are excited to take the court Saturday, be in our own locker room and be on our home floor and we hope to have a good number of fans in the stands to support us," head coach Matt Crenshaw said.  

TIDBITS
- IUPUI returns just 9.1 points per game from a season ago as Crenshaw's squad returns just two letterwinners in Boston Stanton III (4.7 ppg) and Carrasco (4.4 ppg). The 9.1 points per game are the fewest returning points in the country among the nation's Division I programs. 

UP NEXT
IUPUI embark on a three-game trip to New Orleans for the Big Easy Classic, beginning with a Wednesday game (Nov. 23) against Denver at 4:00 p.m. inside UNO's Lakefront Arena.