CLEVELAND - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team was unable to overcome an ice cold shooting night as the Jaguars fell on the road at Cleveland State on Monday night (Dec. 29), 99-86. 

While the Jaguars shot 46 percent overall, it was a 7-of-36 effort (19.4 percent) from three-point range that ultimately doomed the guests. Junior Kyler D'Augustino finished with 27 points and five rebounds before fouling out in the closing minutes, which was also a theme for the evening. The Vikings lived at the free throw line in the second half, finishing 30-of-35 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe as three IU Indy starters were disqualified. 

"Winning basketball games is hard and winning on the road is incredibly hard," head coach Ben Howlett said. "We had some guys step up and play really well tonight and some others who didn't. There were times when we didn't make plays when we had to have them. 

"We had some chances to really get some momentum and we missed shots or missed assignments and it wasn't good enough."

Chevalier Emery led five CSU (5-10, 1-3 HL) players in double-digits with 29 points off the bench and Dayan Nessah added 23 points and eight rebounds. The starting backcourt of Jaidon Lipscomb and Tre Beard contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively. 

The Jaguars got a trey from D'Augustino on their second possession of the game to take an early 3-0 lead and then saw shooting immediately turn sour. CSU scored the game's next eight points and had built a double-digit lead at the 12:29 mark. A quick 7-0 burst by the Jags cut CSU's lead back to 32-28 just ahead of intermission before the Vikings rebuilt an eight-point cushion by halftime. 

Long distance shooting continued to betray the Jaguars to start the second half and CSU played the final 14 minutes of the game in the bonus, hindering any chances of a comeback. CSU had a 13-point lead before the first media timeout of the second half and maintained a double-digit lead the final 18-plus minutes of the contest. The Jaguars crept within 10 on multiple occasions in the final six minutes, but never any closer. 

Senior Finley Woodward tallied a season-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and seven assists and Matt Compas had 17 points and seven assists off the bench. Jaxon Edwards was a menace at both ends of the floor with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals. 

The team's top two marksmen - Maguire Mitchell and Kameron Tinsley - went a combined 1-of-15 from three and both fouled out in a combined 40 minutes of action. 

Cleveland State finished the night at 54 percent from the floor and 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from three. The Vikings also won the glass by a 38-33 margin, keyed by Josiah Harris' 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

The Jaguars will return to action on New Years Day when they trek to Northern Kentucky for a 2:00 p.m. start inside Truist Arena. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 1430 Indy's Sports Ticket.