INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team ended up on the wrong side of a rock fight on Thursday night (Feb. 12), falling at home to Northern Kentucky inside the Jungle, 84-81. NKU outscored the Jaguars 57-45 in the second half after the Jaguars had built a 36-27 halftime advantage. 

Junior Kyler D'Augustino led four Jaguars in double-digits with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting and senior Jaxon Edwards finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Senior Finley Woodward contributed 15 points and six boards while Maguire Mitchell continued his hot play with 14 points and five assists. 

Donovan Oday had a game-high 26 points and Dan Gherezgher closed with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists. However, the second half turned into a good ole fashioned slugfest as the two teams battered one another, leading to a myriad of replay reviews, trips to the foul line and agitated coaching staffs on both sides. 

The game was tied at 66 all with 4:18 remaining after Woodward scored on a layup, but NKU (16-11, 8-8 HL) proceeded to score the game's next six points and never relinquished the advantage. The lead grew to nine with 1:45 left and was up to 10 with 31 seconds remaining. 

The Jags immediately cut the lead in half on a D'Augustino layup and after a five second violation, Mitchell hit a corner three off Edwards' inbounds pass. After NKU's Tae Dozier sank a pair of free throws, Woodward responded with a layup and NKU was sacked with a delay of game technical foul after previously having been warned. Edwards hit the ensuing free throw to make it 83-79 with 10 seconds to play. NKU split a pair of free throws ahead of an Edwards layup, but the Norse were able to inbounds the ball quickly to Oday and run out the final five seconds to the disdain of the home contingent. 

NKU finished the game at 52 percent overall and 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from three while also getting to the free throw line 30 times to the Jaguars' 15. The Jags shot 47 percent overall and just 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) from three. 

The Jags won the glass by a 36-34 margin and forced 15 NKU turnovers, including seven in the game's opening minutes as they built a 10-0 lead at the 15:08 mark. The Jags led the entire first half and pushed the lead as high as 13 before setting for a nine-point edge at intermission. 

NKU's first lead came with 9:12 to play when Gherezgher swished a wing jumper for the first of five lead changes. 

Sophomore Aiden Miller, starting in place of an injured Reece Hagy, finished with a team-high nine rebounds, and Micah Davis contributed five points and three assists off the bench. 

The Jaguars will cap a busy week on Sunday (Feb. 15) on the road at Purdue Fort Wayne at 2:00 p.m. inside Memorial Coliseum. Sunday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and heard in Central Indiana on 1430 Indy's Sports Ticket.