INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team was unable to get all the way to the finish line as the Jaguars battled the Milwaukee Panthers in a catfight inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The visiting Panthers scored the game's final six points and escaped with a 75-70 victory behind a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds from BJ Freeman. 

Jlynn Counter led four Jaguars in double-digits with 15 points and sophomore Abdou Samb scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed five boards. Bryce Monroe contributed 13 points and six assists off the bench and John Egbuta closed with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. 

"I'm proud of the guys," head coach Matt Crenshaw said. "I thought we showed a lot of grit and a lot of fight. We started really well and threw the first punch tonight, which is something we emphasized coming in.

"We had a few too many turnovers at critical times and we allowed them to get some second chances that were costly. I liked how we moved the ball and made unselfish plays for one another. We were just a possession or two short tonight though."

IUPUI (6-24, 2-17 HL) went up 70-69 with 1:39 to play when Vincent Brady II dropped in a layup off a feed from Monroe. The Jaguars then got a defensive stop when Faizon Fields was called for a travel, trying to work against Samb. However, Samb misfired on a short hook shot in close and Freeman was then fouled 94 feet away from his own basket, leading to free throws. Freeman calmly sank both for the guests to retake the lead. IUPUI misfired on three attempts on their next possession, all from inside 10-feet, before Fields grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled. 

After Fields made both freebies, IUPUI had one last chance to draw even, but Brady came up empty on a potential game tying wing three with six seconds to play. 

In a game where shooting percentages were nearly identical across the board, it was Milwaukee's work on the glass the proved pivotal. The Panthers grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and converted them into 15 second chance points and ultimately outrebounded IUPUI 38-31. 

IUPUI scored the game's first nine points and built a 19-4 lead in the opening six-plus minutes behind Counter and Egbuta's torrid starts. Milwaukee counterpunched with a quick 7-0 run and continued to chip away throughout the first half. The Panthers took a brief 31-30 lead late in the half on a Kentrell Pullian layup but IUPUI retook the lead before halftime when Brady tipped-in a Monroe miss just before the final horn. 

IUPUI will close out the regular season at Cleveland State on Saturday (Mar. 2) at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+.