INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team dropped a home heartbreaker on Sunday (Jan. 4) despite a heroic effort from junior guard Kyler D'Augustino. D'Augustino scored 20 of his career-high 31 points in the second half but the Jaguars' come-from-behind effort fell short in an 81-77 defeat. 

Senior Jaxon Edwards finished with 15 points off the bench and freshman Maguire Mitchell closed with 12 points on four treys. Michael Imariagbe and TJ Burch paced Wright State (9-7, 4-1 HL) with 19 points apiece and Logan Woods added 13 off the bench. 

Sophomore Micah Davis had a potential game-tying wing three rim out on the Jaguars' final offensive possession with six seconds left before Edwards was fouled going for the rebound. Edwards missed the front of the ensuing one-and-one before WSU grabbed the board and sealed the win. The game featured seven ties and nine lead changes, the bulk of which came in the final minutes of the contest. 

WSU led by as many as 15 in the first half, fueled by a white hot start from behind the arc. The Raiders made 7-of-11 from deep in building a 37-22 advantage with 5:18 left before intermission. The Jags cut the margin back to 46-39 by halftime, thanks in part to late threes from Aiden Miller and Mitchell. 

"We got shoved around in the first half and should have rebounded more, they got more rebounds as well off of free throws," D'Augustino said. "If as a team we got in there and fought a little harder for those rebounds, we would have probably won the game."

The Jaguars visibly upped the intensity in half number two, stacking defensive stops and forcing 12 Raider turnovers after getting just five first half turnovers. 

IU Indy hung around and finally took a 63-62 lead on a D'Augustino runner with 7:41 to play before the teams traded the lead back-and-forth repeatedly down the stretch. Finley Woodward gave the Jags a 73-71 lead with 2:18 to play after a nifty find from D'Augustino before WSU regained the advantage on a Kellen Pickett three-point play. 

D'Augustino gave the Jaguars a one-point lead on each of the next two offensive trips before WSU went ahead for good with 40 seconds left on a pair of Pickett free throws. D'Augustino finally missed on a drive with 26 seconds left, allowing WSU to take a three-point lead on a pair of Logan Woods freebies.

After a timeout, the Jags drew up a clean look for Davis, only to see the lefty's attempt spin out. 

Wright State shot 57 percent overall and 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from three, but hit just one triple in the second half. The Jaguars shot 48 percent overall and 40 percent from beyond the arc. Wright State outscored the Jags 20-7 at the free throw line, more than doubling IU Indy's attempts by a 25-11 margin. 

D'Augustino went for 20-plus for a fourth straight game, hitting 13-of-24 field goal attempts and all four of his free throw attempts. Davis added seven points off the bench and Woodward finished with two points and a career-high 10 assists. Edwards hit 6-of-11 shots and collected two of the team's 10 steals. 

The Jaguars will return to action on Friday (Jan. 9) when they trek north to Green Bay for a 7:00 p.m. tip on ESPN+.