INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team earned a hard fought, overtime win inside the Jungle on Thursday night (Jan. 15), outlasting Robert Morris 96-93. Junior Kyler D'Augustino scored a game-high 28 points and senior Jaxon Edwards collected a double-double with a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. 

Sophomore Micah Davis contributed 13 points off the bench and classmate Aiden Miller added 12, all from beyond the arc. Ryan Prather Jr. paced RMU (11-8, 3-5 HL) with 21 points and former Jaguar DeSean  Goode closed with 20 points and eight rebounds. 

"We needed the win. Guys were hanging around practicing the right way, and it's good for them to get rewarded because we've been close the last couple games and didn't have anything to show for it," head coach Ben Howlett said. "It's just a much needed win for our team."  

The Jaguars never trailed in overtime as Miller hit a contested trey on the opening possession to stake the hosts to a quick lead. The lead later grew to four on a Finley Woodward runner at the 2:48 mark, only to see RMU's Ta'Zir Smith fire back with a wing three. IU Indy repeatedly answered, primarily at the foul line, to stave off the guests. Freshman Reece Hagy split a pivotal trip to the foul line with 24.8 seconds to play and after RMU missed two shots from in close, Edwards grabbed the defensive rebound and launched a brilliant pass ahead to Davis for a punctuation dunk with 10.6 seconds remaining. Goode scored in the closing seconds, but the Jaguars quickly inbounded the ball to D'Augustino to run out the clock. 

IU Indy (5-15, 1-8 HL) shook off a sluggish start as the Jaguars trailed 15-5 in the opening three-plus minutes before ripping off a 12-0 run, fueled by their full-court press. The run started with six straight points without RMU getting beyond midcourt, punctuated by an Edwards transition dunk. RMU shot 50 percent from the floor and had a 41-38 halftime lead, but quickly built a 12-point second half lead, starting the second half with an 11-2 run. The Jaguars countered with an 8-0 burst, only to see the Colonials regain a double-digit advantage. 

Davis ignited a go-ahead 11-0 run, stroking a wing three before D'Augustino scored six straight transition points, courtesy of the full-court press. The game was tied at 79 all with 59 seconds left when Edwards hit a pair of free throws, but Goode retaliated with a go-ahead layup on RMU's next trip. The Jags got a game tying bucket from D'Augustino and a much needed defensive stop when Albert Vargas missed a contested jumper on the final possession of regulation.

"Yeah, that was the exact plan. We executed perfectly," D'Augustino said of his game-tying bucket from in close. "We were hoping maybe he could be open off the flex screen and it wasn't there, so then I just caught it and went to work from there."

"He's a tough cover, you know, especially when he gets the ball inside with his dribble," Howlett said. "He's left-handed and he's strong, and, you know, he had the guy on his back, and he was able to score inside, which is exactly the way the play was drawn up."

The Jaguars committed just eight turnovers and forced 18 RMU miscues, leading to a 33-12 margin in points off turnovers. The Jaguars also went 26-of-35 (74.3 percent) from the free throw line, helping offset RMU's 51 percent shooting from the floor and 48 percent mark from three. 

Woodward finished with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals and sophomore Kameron Tinsley returned from injury to tally six points in 16 minutes off the bench. 

The victory snapped a season-long six-game skid and also stopped a five-game losing streak to RMU. 

The Jaguars will close out the two-game homestand on Saturday (Jan. 17) when they host Detroit Mercy inside the Jungle at 2:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. In addition, the game can be heard in Central Indiana on 1430 Indy's Sports Ticket as Jimmy Cook (pxp) and Chaz Hinds (analyst) describe the action.