DETROIT - Graduate transfer Paul Zilinskas tallied a game-high 28 points, including five threes, and backcourt mate Jarvis Walker finished with 20 as the IU Indianapolis men's basketball team went on the road and collected a victory at Detroit Mercy on Wednesday night (Feb. 19), 80-71. The Jaguars built an 18-point second half lead and staved off the Titans down the stretch in collecting a first-ever road win over the Titans. 

"It was a great road dub," Walker said. "We came together as a team. We got out to a lead early on them and everyone contributed. It's a great win for us."

Alec Millender added 16 points and five assists and Sean Craig had a career-high 16 rebounds to accompany six points and four steals. Orlando Lovejoy paced three UDM (8-20, 4-13 HL) players in double-digits with 22 points and TJ Nadeau added 16 points, albeit on 5-of-14 shooting. 

IU Indy (9-19, 5-12 HL) finished the game at 48 percent from the field and 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from three while limiting the hosts to under 42 percent from the floor and just 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) from the outside. 

The Jaguars led nearly wire-to-wire, seizing an early 11-4 lead on treys from Craig and Millender, followed by a Craig three-point play. The Titans tied the game twice at 18 all and 31 all before the Jaguars took a 34-31 lead into intermission. 

UDM opened the second half with a Nadeau trey to tie the score before the Jaguars scored the game's next 10 points as part of a 23-5 run that spanned nearly six minutes. Zilinskas scored 15 of the team's 23 points during the burst, including back-to-back threes that later opened up the defense for a tough drive that pushed the score to 57-39. 

UDM chipped away, getting the lead eventually using a 7-0 run to cut the Jaguar advantage back to 70-64 with 3:01 to play.

However, Walker came up with timely baskets to thwart any chance of a comeback. 

He rattled in a wing three with the shot clock winding down with 2:31 to play to push the lead back to nine. After a pair of UDM free throws, Walker knocked in a pull-up elbow jumper to again make it an nine-point lead. The Titans closed within five with 1:14 to play on a Nadeau trey, but the Jaguars made their final four free throws, sandwiched around a Walker steal, to seal the win. 

Walker finished 6-of-15 from the floor, but hit 3-of-4 from deep and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Millender was brilliant, hitting 6-of-7 field goal attempts, including a pair of treys, and committed just one turnover in 36 minutes. 

Freshman DeSean Goode closed with seven points and he and Keenan Garner grabbed three rebounds apiece. 

The victory gave the Jaguars a regular season series sweep of the Titans, giving them a leg up in seeding for the upcoming Horizon League Tournament. IU Indy will return to action on Sunday (Feb. 23) when the Jaguars trek to Northern Kentucky to face the Norse as 1:00 p.m. inside Truist Center. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.