INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team dropped an absolute heartbreaker on its home court to Northern Kentucky on Saturday (Dec. 7), falling at the buzzer to the Norse, 66-64. NKU's Trey Robinson scored on a goaltending call as time expired to send the Norse to the victory. The Jaguars seemingly sent the game to overtime by forcing a tough Sam Vinson jumper on the final possession, but the ball wedged between the rim and backboard with 1.1 seconds to play. NKU (3-6, 1-0 HL) retained the ball underneath their own hoop on the alternating possession. Robinson cut to the baseline and put a reverse layup off the glass and on the rim before it was touched by Julian Steinfeld, who was making his season debut. 

The play was originally called a goaltend and confirmed after a lengthy review, giving the Norse the win. The bucket capped a 19-point effort for Robinson. 

"I'm proud of our guys. We fought all day long against a really good program," head coach Paul Corsaro said. "It's a tough way to lose a basketball game, but we'll learn from it. It's part of the growth process for our guys."

Paul Zilinskas led IU Indy (5-6, 1-1 HL) with 24 points and Jarvis Walker closed with 23, including a game-tying jumper with just under nine seconds left in regulation. Junior Sean Craig closed with a game-high 13 rebounds, helping the Jaguars to a 29-25 victory on the glass. Included in Walker's 23-point effort was his 1,000th collegiate point among three stops in his career. 

IU Indy led 60-52 with 5:36 to play when Zilinskas drained a tough fallaway jumper, but NKU closed the game outscoring the Jaguars 14-4 over the final five-plus minutes. NKU's Keeyan Itejere had three blocked shots to stifle three different Jaguar possessions during the final stretch. NKU's Josh Dilling drilled a go-ahead three from the right wing with 20 seconds left, setting up Walker's game-tying connection. 

Walker finished 10-of-15 from the floor and Zilinskas hit 8-of-14 attempts, including six treys, as the Jaguars shot 51.1 percent overall and 10-of-20 from three. NKU was limited to just 44.8 percent overall and 35 percent from three. 

NKU did the bulk of its damage in close, outscoring the Jaguars 26-14 in the paint and 19-3 on fast break points. The Norse scored the game's opening seven points and built a double-digit lead at 19-9 on a Dan Gherezgher fast break layup. However, Zilinskas repeatedly found free space and caught fire for the remainder of the half, scoring 19 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Jags led 33-29 at the half. 

Corsaro continued to tighten the rotation as the Jaguar bench contributed just three points in limited action. Ron Rutland III led the reserves with 12 minutes and two points while Keenan Garner added a point and two rebounds. 

DeSean Goode finished with six points, two rebounds and two assists and Alec Millender had five points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. 

The Jaguars will play their next four games away from home, beginning with a Horizon League matchup at Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday (Dec. 11) at 7:00 p.m. inside Memorial Coliseum. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.