MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The IUPUI basketball team had come close to securing a number of wins this season, but finally sealed the deal on Thursday (Feb. 17) with a convincing 66-56 road win at Robert Morris at the UPMC Events Center. B.J. Maxwell and Bakari LaStrap both pumped in a game-high 18 points and Mike DePersia finished with 13 as the six-man Jaguars outlasted the Colonials for a much needed victory. 

IUPUI (3-22, 1-13 HL) shot 50 percent from the floor and held RMU (7-20, 5-13 HL) to just 38.8 percent and outscored the hosts 16-7 over the final five minutes of the game. IUPUI got a three from Nathan McClure and two daggers from Maxwell to essentially seal the deal late. After going 0-of-6 from three in the opening half, the Jags were 7-of-8 in the second half to finish at 50 percent from deep.  

LaStrap was an efficient 9-of-14, all inside the arc, and Maxwell went 6-of-14, including the two late treys. 

"I'm just so proud of these young men," head coach Matt Crenshaw said. "They've continued to fight all season long and tonight they were finally rewarded. We've learned a lot and learned a lot about ourselves, so it was nice to see them finally get to enjoy a win and play with the confidence that they could win. 

"All six guys made plays and left it out there tonight and I couldn't be more proud of them as a group."

IUPUI went in front 47-46 with 6:29 left after DePersia made a pair of free throws and Boston Stanton III pushed the lead to four with a three as the shot clock expired at the 5:20 mark. That would be a recurring theme for IUPUI down the stretch as the Jaguars repeatedly drained the shot clock and relied on penetration and pitch to setup three-point attempts. McClure's make at the 4:34 mark rebuilt a four-point lead and LaStrap extended the lead to six with 3:46 remaining. 

Maxwell delivered a crushing blow to the hosts when he splashed a corner three on the heels of a McClure offensive board with 2:40 left, extending IUPUI's lead to nine. RMU's Kahliel Spear completed a three-point play with 2:29 left, but Maxwell ended any doubt with a trey with 71 seconds left off LaStrap's fifth assist of the night. 

McClure finished with seven points and five boards and freshman Chuks Isitua closed with five points and seven rebounds. Stanton, IUPUI's lone reserve, had five points and two rebounds in 25 minutes. Both McClure and Maxwell were forced to play all 40 minutes as LaStrap and Isitua battled foul trouble for much of the evening. 

Matt Mayers led RMU with 12 points and nine boards the Jags frustrated Spear, the Colonials' top player, into an 11-point, six-rebound effort on 4-of-11 shooting.  

The Jaguars came out shooting well, making six of their first seven shots, but turnovers kept things close as the guests struggled to get shot attempts. IUPUI built a 12-7 lead at the 12:11 mark when Maxwell dropped in a layup after a DePersia steal. RMU rattled off seven straight to take a 14-12 lead, but neither team led by more than five points in the opening stanza. Fittingly, the score was tied at 24 all at the half as the two teams combined on more turnovers (18) than made field goals (17). 

IUPUI will cap the stretch of five straight road games on Saturday (Feb. 19) when the Jaguars take on Youngstown State at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.