INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team opened Horizon League play with a home win over Green Bay on Wednesday night (Dec. 4), scrapping past the Phoenix 84-75 inside the Jungle on the IU Indy campus. Jarvis Walker led five Jaguars in double-digits with 25 points and reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Week DeSean Goode notched his first collegiate double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Sean Craig also had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Alec Millender closed with a season-high 15 points and five assists. 

Anthony Roy, the nation's top scorer entering play, pumped in 34 points on 12-of-20 shooting to lead Green Bay (2-7, 0-1 HL) and Foster Wonders finished with 14. Roy connected on 6-of-12 from three and also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the loss. 

"It was awesome. It always feels good to be 1-0 in league play," head coach Paul Corsaro said. "Horizon League regular season play is huge to us. It's a whole new season in itself. Starting out 1-0 is great. Our guys are playing really well right now and we're getting contributions from a lot of different guys and a lot of guys stepped up tonight and it was just a great environment tonight."

It marked the first time in eight seasons the Jaguars (5-5, 1-0 HL) won their Horizon League opener and did so by outscoring Green Bay 48-33 in the second half. The game featured 17 lead changes, but the Jaguars seized command with a 14-0 run in the second half that turned a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead with just under six minutes remaining. After Roy knocked in a trey to make it 62-58 with 10:50 to play, the Jags reeled off 14 straight points and held the Phoenix without a field goal for more than six minutes to take control. Walker scored seven of the team's 14 points during the run, including a pair of tough buckets inside the arc. 

After leading by as many as 11 with 3:39 to play when Goode knocked in a wing three, things got a tad dicey late as the Jags misfortunes at the foul line left the door ajar. The Phoenix were within five with 50 seconds left and C.J. O'Hara rebounded a Roy missed free throw, but Goode erased the putback attempt and the Jags regained a two-possession lead at the free throw line. From there, Craig essentially iced the game at the foul line, making his final four attempts of the evening. 

"We know our potential. We know how good we can be," Walker said. "Just to put it out on the court and play a full 40 minutes of hard basketball and how we play our style - it was great."

The Jaguars used the glass and limited turnovers to help offset a night in which they made just 9-of-33 (27.3 percent) from three-point range. The Jaguars were outshot by Green Bay as the Phoenix hit 47.1 percent from the floor and 39.3 percent from three. However, the Jags converted 14 offensive rebounds into a 22-5 margin on second chance points and turned it over just five times. On the flip side, the Jags forced 11 Green Bay miscues and finished with an 18-9 gap in points off turnovers. 

Zilinskas helped stake the Jaguars to a quick 10-2 lead with a pair of early threes, but the Phoenix fired back with a 12-0 run to take a 14-10 advantage. The margin stayed at two possessions for the entire first half before Green Bay tallied the final five points to take a 42-36 lead into the break. 

The Jaguars shot 53 percent from the field after halftime to earn the victory and the program's first three-game winning streak since February 2021. 

Walker hit 10-of-20 shots, doing the bulk of his damage inside the arc where he made 9-of-13 attempts. He also grabbed four rebounds and delivered three assists in the win. Goode, who had made just two threes in the season's first nine games, went 3-of-3 from deep and finished 5-of-6 from the field. Millender piloted the team for better than 36 minutes at the lead guard spot, connecting on 5-of-9 shots. 

The Jaguars will cap the three-game homestand on Saturday (Dec. 7) when they host Northern Kentucky at 2:00 p.m. inside the Jungle. Fans can purchase tickets by clicking the link and are encouraged to purchase and download tickets before arriving on site on Saturday. Rick Johnston (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) will describe the action from courtside in the Jungle on ESPN+.