FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IUPUI basketball team had a road upset bid fall just short at Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night (Jan. 25) as the Jaguars were thwarted by the Mastodons inside Gates Sports Center, 81-75. Sophomore Jlynn Counter matched his career-high with 27 points to lead three Jaguars in double-digits and junior John Egbuta notched 14 points off the bench. 

Reigning #HLMBB Freshman of the Week Vincent Brady II closed with 12 points. Deonte Billups led the Mastodons with a career-high 26 points and seven rebounds and Jarred Godfrey contributed 22 points for the victors. 

"Tough game; really tough game," head coach Matt Crenshaw said. "I was proud of our fight and how we kept fighting back. I thought we played through some adversity tonight and I'm proud of our guys for continuing to fight. We never stopped. We missed some free throws and we missed some open shots and maybe the outcome is different. Our young guys are growing up right in front of us though. We're a much different team now than we were a month ago."

IUPUI was down 68-57 with 5:29 left after Godfrey made a pair of foul shots before the guests rallied furiously to get back within two. The Jaguars scored seven straight points in less than a minute as Counter made two free throws, Armon Jarrard then scored on a steal and layup and after a defensive stop, Counter buried a long three with 1:49 left. 

Purdue Fort Wayne's (14-8, 6-5 HL) Ra Kpedi pushed the lead back out to four at the free throw line and Counter missed a tough jumper on the ensuing possession. The Mastodons scored again when Anthony Roberts put back a miss with 28 seconds left for a 78-72 lead. 

IUPUI was victim to oddity in the final seconds as Jonah Carrasco was fouled as Counter brought the ball into the frontcourt. Counter went to the line, made the first and was delivered the ball for the second free throw before play was stopped. The officials gathered, watched a replay and retracted the point before sending Carrasco to the line. Carrasco misfired on both attempts, keeping the deficit at six before sealing the six-point victory. 

The first half was a track meet as the teams played to a 40-40 halftime score, buoyed by Counter's 18 and Billups' 21 points. IUPUI shot 55 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while nine of the Mastodons' field goals came from behind the arc. 

IUPUI (3-18, 0-11 HL) was the first to flinch at the start of the second half as Purdue Fort Wayne opened the second stanza with eight straight points and held the Jags off the scoreboard for more than five-and-a-half minutes. The Jags didn't score a second half field goal for nearly eight minutes when Egbuta completed a three-point play. 

The two teams combined to shoot 36 second half free throws as IUPUI closed the game at 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from the stripe and the hosts went 22-of-28 (78.6 percent). 

Carrasco had five points, five boards, three assists and two blocked shots off the IUPUI bench as Chris Osten was limited to just seven minutes before leaving with an injury. Egbuta made 6-of-10 shots for his fourth straight game in double-figures and Jarrard tallied eight points off the bench. 

IUPUI will return to action on Sunday (Jan. 29) when they take on Cleveland State at 3:00 p.m. inside CSU's Wolstein Center. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.