FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team had a huge comeback fall just short as the Jaguars fell just short at Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 15), 83-78. The Jaguars trailed the host Mastodons 66-45 with 12:25 to play before ultimately cutting it to a one-possession game in the final minute. Freshman Maguire Mitchell had a potential game-tying corner three fall awry before Purdue Fort Wayne eventually held on for the victory. 

Sophomore Micah Davis had a team-high 23 points, including five treys, and senior Jaxon Edwards registered his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Junior Kyler D'Augustino had 15 points and four assists and Mitchell finished with 13 points. 

Corey Hadnot II had a game-high 31 points on 14-of-20 shooting, repeatedly finding space in the teeth of the IU Indy defense and finishing in close. Mikale Stevenson added 12 points for the victors. 

"We got in way too big of a hole," head coach Ben Howlett said. "It's nearly impossible to come back from 20 down on the road. I liked our fight the last 10 minutes and our response, but we shouldn't have put ourselves in that position to begin with. 

"We missed some shots that we normally don't miss and I liked our gameplan overall, but we didn't always execute or made some careless plays in some key situations."

The Jaguars started hot from beyond the arc, starting the game 6-of-13 to build an eight-point lead midway through the first half. However, the Jags missed their final eight three-point attempts of the half as Purdue Fort Wayne (15-12, 9-7 HL) flipped the momentum and took a 42-36 halftime advantage. 

The Mastodons were the aggressors at the start of the second half, seizing full control of the contest by hitting 10-of-11 shots to start the half to build a 66-45 lead. Davis began shouldering the offensive load with an array of regulars benched for an extended period. Back-to-back drives after an Aiden Miller three shaved seven quick points off the Mastodon lead. The Jags finally got the lead under 10 when Woodward scored in close with 4:00 remaining. 

After Hadnot pushed the lead back to 11 on a drive, the Jags countered with nine straight points and held the Mastodons scoreless for over three minutes. D'Augustino hit a wing three, followed by an Edwards layup off a Woodward assist. Moments later, Davis picked off a pass near midcourt and raced the opposite direction for a one-handed dunk. After another defensive stand, D'Augustino got free for a layup off the left side with 32 seconds to play. 

Stevenson left the door open with a missed free throw, but Mitchell's three rimmed out, ending a frustrating shooting performance for the standout rookie. Mitchell finished just 1-of-11 from three as the Jags shot a collective 10-of-35 (28.6 percent) from deep. 

Purdue Fort Wayne finished at 54 percent overall and 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from three and outscoring the Jaguars 52-32 in the paint. IU Indy closed at 42 percent overall, but was decisive on the boards, 43-31. 

The loss was a third straight for the Jags while Purdue Fort Wayne snapped a three-game skid. 

IU Indy will play its final road regular season contest on Thursday (Feb. 19) when it treks to Wright State for a 7:00 p.m. tip.