INDIANAPOLIS – For the second straight contest junior Jlynn Counter tallied 17 points—a team high—but IUPUI (3-6, 0-2 HL) fell to Horizon League preseason favorites Northern Kentucky (5-3, 2-0 HL) in the league home opener Saturday afternoon (Dec. 2). The Norse used a stellar second half to claim a 71-55 victory, their fourth straight.

Three Northern Kentucky players reached double-digit scoring, led by Marques Warrick who notched 12 points each half. He was followed by Cade Meyer and Sam Vinson who scored 12 and 13, respectively. On the other side, Counter was the only Jag to reach double digits, but every player who saw the floor tallied a point (10 players).

Head Coach Matt Crenshaw had high praise for Northern Kentucky after the game, saying, "let me tip my hat to them. We are trying to get to where they are. They have some experience; they have some gel and they have been through the battles.

"Turnovers were our downfall today. We just didn't get enough attempts at the rim and against teams like (Northern Kentucky) you can't have lost possessions."

Both squads struggled in the opening minutes, combining for seven turnovers and just four points before the first media timeout. Qwanzi Samuels provided a spark off the bench after the break, scoring the first four Jaguar points after making his first two shots. A fast break dunk notched Samuels sixth point and cut the deficit to two, 12-10.

Counter, the Jaguars' leading scorer, heated up after missing his first two attempts, connecting on his next four, including a three pointer to take the lead, 23-22 with just over two minutes remaining in the half.

IUPUI extended its lead on the next possession with goaltending being called on a DJ Jackson layup. Northern Kentucky, however, would retake the lead after Warrick knocked down consecutive contested shots, including a buzzer-beater to take a one-point advantage to the break.

Warrick—a member of the Horizon League Preseason First-Team—led all scorers with 12 in the opening stanza followed by IUPUI's Counter who tallied nine points to go along with three rebounds and two assists.

Cooper Dewitt opened the scoring the second half, connecting from beyond the arc to retake the lead. However, the Norse would score on their opening three possessions to cling to a narrow advantage. Back-to-back Jaguar turnovers allowed the visitors to stretch the lead to six after the first five minutes of play.

Following a fast break layup by Cade Meyer that gave Northern Kentucky its largest advantage of the game, 42-33, Crenshaw was forced to call a timeout. Out of the break the hosts attacked the basket, getting to the foul line on back-to-back possessions. Despite making three of four from the charity stripe, the IUPUI deficit grew after the visitors scored on five straight offensive trips, making the score 51-38.

The Norse stifled any attempt at a Jaguar comeback in the final minutes of play by continuing to score on the offensive end, ending the half with a 62.1 shooting percentage. The visitors dominated inside the paint, outscoring the Jags 40-20.

Despite winning the rebound battle 28-23, turnovers continued to plague the Jags in the second half, wracking up 22 leading to 19 Norse points.

"We had a little energy drop off (in the second half). We are working on putting two halves together and we are making progress," stated Dewitt.

IUPUI heads to Eastern Illinois for a non-conference clash Thursday (Dec. 7). Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.