INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI will close out its four-game homestand and put a capper on 2023 on Sunday (Dec. 31) when the Jaguars host Cleveland State (9-5, 2-1 HL) inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 2:00 p.m.. Sunday's game is sponsored by Indiana Members Credit Union and will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Scott Agness (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action. 

Students in grades K-8 can receive a FREE ticket to Sunday's game with the purchase of an adult ticket and the first 50 fans in attendance will receive a FREE IUPUI blanket. 

IUPUI (5-9, 1-2 HL) is coming off back-to-back wins, including an emphatic 67-55 victory over Detroit Mercy on Friday. Sophomore Vincent Brady II had a season-high 17 points and six rebounds and Bryce Monroe and DJ Jackson added 13 each as Jlynn Counter sat out due to illness. The Jaguars built a quick 19-5 lead in the early going and later led 30-10 before taking an 18-point halftime lead. IUPUI extended the lead to as many as 25 in the second half before sitting in cruise control for much of the final 20 minutes. Sophomore Abdou Samb had eight points and eight rebounds and Kidtrell Blocker tallied eight points off the IUPUI bench, including a one-handed dunk that later earned a spot on ESPN's SportsCenter's #SCTop10. 
 
Offensively, IUPUI had a season-low eight turnovers in the victory. 

QUOTABLE
"It feels good. I'm just happy we got the win. We played together today. I feel like that's the biggest reason why the scoreboard was the way it was. I feel like when we play together, no one can really stop us and we've got to keep doing that," Brady said following Friday's win over Detroit Mercy. 

SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE
Cleveland State enters play at 9-5 overall and 2-1 in Horizon League play, following Thursday's 75-67 home win over Oakland. The Vikings have won three straight, including non-conference wins over Bradley and Western Michigan before the Oakland win. The Vikings are 8-0 at home this season and just 1-5 on the road with the line win coming at Bradley. CSU comes in shooting 43.7 percent from the floor and an impressive 38.0 percent from beyond the arc. Tristan Enaruna (17.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.8 apg), Drew Lowder (13.9 ppg) and Tae Williams (12.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) all come in averaging double-digits. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
IUPUI is 4-9 all-time against Cleveland State and 3-4 in the seven meetings in Indianapolis. IUPUI hasn't defeated CSU since January 2019, having lost eight straight in the series.  

UP NEXT
IUPUI will open a two-game road trip at Robert Morris on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The Jags will close out the trip at Youngstown State on Sunday (Jan. 7) at 1:30 p.m. 

Notes and Tidbits (click here to download the full IUPUI Game Notes)
    AGAINST THE TITANS
    Albeit against a winless Detroit Mercy squad, the IUPUI basketball team is coming off its most emphatic win of the season, despite playing without top performer Jlynn Counter. The Jaguars surged out to a 19-5 lead and never let up, ultimately building an 18-point halftime lead. 
    Vincent Brady II had a season-high 17 points (5-10 FG, 3-8 3's, 4-7 FT) and six rebounds while Bryce Monroe and DJ Jackson added 13 points each. The Jaguars shot 56.7 percent in the opening half and committed a season-low eight turnovers, leading to just 10 UDM points. IUPUI also limited UDM to just two second chance points. 

    SAMB, FOR STARTERS
    In two games in the IUPUI starting lineup (both wins), sophomore Abdou Samb is averaging 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, going 8-of-8 from the field in those two contests. 
    Samb missed his final field goal attempt in the Lindenwood (Dec. 16), giving him eight straight makes from the floor. His field goal percentage has risen from 55.5 percent to 65.7 percent with the eight consecutive makes. 

    MR. DO-IT-ALL
    In his second season with the program, junior guard Jlynn Counter has become the Jaguars' Mr. Do It All, leading the team in scoring (16.2 ppg),assists (2.7 apg), field goal percentage (51.0%), threes made (13), free throws made (37) and minutes played (30.0 mpg). He ranks second on the team in  rebounding (4.6 rpg) and finds himself among the Horizon League's top-10 in scoring and field goal percentage.  
    Counter, a preseason Second Team All-Horizon League pick, led the team in scoring (14.5 ppg) and assists (3.3 apg) last season. 

    COUNTER COUNT
    Counter tallied his 500th career point against Elon on Nov. 17 and enters today with 661 career points. 
    ...He's scored in double-digits 32 times in 44 career games
    ...He's hit for 20-or-more points 13 times in 44 career games

    QWANZ SEES DOUBLE
    Graduate transfer Qwanzi Samuels recently recorded his first collegiate double-double at Minnesota (Dec. 16), having finished with a career-high 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-3 FT), 10 rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes off the Jaguars' bench. 
    It marked his first-ever double-digit scoring game (in his 96th career game) and his second career game with 10-or-more rebounds. 

    Q ON THE GLASS
    The last eight games, Samuels has hit the glass hard, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, including a pair of double-digit rebound efforts. Samuels now leads the team in rebounding at 5.0 rebounds per game and is second on the team in offensive rebounding (1.3 rpg). 

    BENCH WORK
    IUPUI is averaging 26.1 points per game from its reserves this season and has gotten at least 21 bench points in 13 of 14 games (including five games of 30+). The Jaguars are coming off a season-low 14 points, largely due to Jlynn Counter missing the Detroit Mercy game. Both Vincent Brady II and DJ Jackson moved into the starting lineup with Counter sidelined as Kidtrell Blocker scored a team-high eight off the bench.  

    FOR STARTERS
    After relying on the starting group of Jlynn Counter, Bryce Monroe, Kidtrell Blocker, Qwanzi Samuels and Yves Nkomba for the bulk of the season (8 games, 2-6 overall), head coach Matt Crenshaw has tried some alternatives of late. 
    Cooper Dewitt has started the past six games in place of Samuels and both Vincent Brady II and DJ Jackson have recently earned three starts. Most recently, sophomore Abdou Samb moved into the starting five, replace Nkomba ahead of the Dec. 21 game with Defiance.  
    No IUPUI player has started every game this season. 

    TEN MAN ROTATION
    Ten different Jaguars are playing at least 10 minutes per game, led by Jlynn Counter (30.0 mpg) down to Yves Nkomba (10.5 mpg). 
    Eight of the 10 have scored in double-digits at least once this year.

    ONLY THE LONELY    
    Only three Jaguars (Blocker, Egbuta, Samuels) have appeared in all 14 games so far this season as 12 different players have missed at least one game due to injury or illness. Most recently, Jlynn Counter missed the Detroit Mercy game due to illness. 

    IN THE CLASSROOM
    Seven members of the squad topped a 3.0 grade point average for the fall semester, paced by John Egbuta (3.62) and Amhad Jarrard (3.51). Others included Vincent Brady II (3.48), Yves Nkomba (3.46), Derek Petersen (3.29), Qwanzi Samuels (3.12) and Bryce Monroe (3.00).  

    SEEING RED
    It's likely that both Amhad and Armon Jarrard will redshirt this season. Amhad missed the entire summer and preseason after suffering an injury last season and Armon was limited to just three games this season while playing through an injury. He was shutdown after trying to play at Indiana State on Nov. 14. 
    The Jarrards are one of 21 sets of brothers playing for the same team this season and one of nine sets of twins in Division I basketball. 

    FIRST TO TIP
    IUPUI was the first team in the country to tip-off the 2023-24 season, starting at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 6 in front of a crowd of 4,867 on the annual NCAA 'Readers Become Leaders' Day at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. 
    The 4,867 represented a new home attendance record for the Jaguars, eclipsing the previous mark of 4,114 from last year's similar event. 

    ROAD KILL 
    The road win at Valpo was a welcome event, marking IUPUI's first road win since winning at Robert Morris on Feb. 17, 2022. It was the first road non-conference victory since winning at South Florida on Nov. 13, 2019 at the Cayman Islands Classic.