FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A combination of fatigue and foul trouble caught up to IUPUI's six-man squad inside Allen County Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night (Feb. 10) as the Jaguars fell to host Purdue Fort Wayne, 72-57. Graduate transfer B.J. Maxwell had a team-high 19 points, including his 1,000th collegiate point, and Nathan McClure pumped in a career-high 17 in the loss. 

Relegated to just six bodies for the fifth straight game, the Jaguars trailed by just five at the break, but were outscored 39-29 after the break in the loss. 

Jarred Godfrey paced Purdue Fort Wayne (14-10, 9-6 HL) with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Jalon Pipkins added 13 points and seven boards for the victors. Deonte Billups tallied 12 off the Mastodon bench. 

The game was nip-and-tuck for much of the first half before the IUPUI (2-20, 0-11 HL) offense went cold, allowing the hosts to rattle off an 8-0 run to build a 21-12 lead. Freshman Chuks Isitua stopped the run with a short hook shot and the Jags stayed within striking distance for the remainder of the half. Maxwell provided a highlight by dropping in an uncontested layup at the 4:49 mark for his 1,000 collegiate point, spanning his time at Abilene Christian, Detroit Mercy, St. Edward's University and this season at IUPUI. Ultimately, Maxwell scored 13 of the team's 28 first half points, which included an early trey. 

Purdue Fort Wayne looked to capture momentum at the close of the half when Damian Chong Qui scored a three-point play with 9.9 seconds left, but Bakari LaStrap countered with a floater at the final horn to make it 33-28 at the break. 

The start of the second half was a good ole fashioned shootout as McClure connected on back-to-back threes, but the hosts also hit jumpers at the other end. Freshman Boston Stanton III stroked an open three from the right wing to cut PFW's lead to 42-37 with 17:45 left, but the 'Dons again answered with a matching three. Back-to-back Godfrey threes extended the 'Dons lead to 12 at the 15:18 mark and the Jaguars were never able to get back within single digits. 

An already dire situation got even murkier when Maxwell fouled out with 8:14 remaining, leaving the Jags with just five able bodies to finish the game. Maxwell hit 7-of-14 shots and grabbed four boards before checking out. McClure hit a career-high five threes to account for the bulk of his scoring, doing so on eight attempts. LaStrap and Stanton both closed with six points each and Mike DePersia had five points and five assists. Isitua closed with four points and a team-high six boards. 

"We had a great first half, we fought," Maxwell said. "We had great energy from all six players, (we're) just trying to fight and battle every night and come out and compete.

"We're just trying to show them that we're trying to build a culture."

IUPUI will continue the five-game stretch of road games on Saturday (Feb. 12) when the Jaguars travel to Cleveland State for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.