Offensive Woes Send IUPUI Jags to 70-49 Loss at NCCU

DURHAM, North Carolina  --  The IUPUI basketball team capped a seven-day, three-state mammoth road trip with a thud, falling 70-49 North Carolina Central inside McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium on Monday night (Dec. 29). Freshman D.J. McCall was the lone Jaguar to score in double-digits with 11 points and senior DavRon Williams added a game-high 13 rebounds in his return to his former school.

Dante Holmes led four Eagles in double-digits with 15 points and Karamo Jawara and Nimrod Hilliard added 13 points each. Anthony McDonald chimed in with 11 points, all coming after halftime. IUPUI shot just 29.2 percent overall and committed 18 turnovers, leading to 12 NCCU easy points.

"We've got to put this one behind us and start looking ahead to (Summit) league play. That's what's important now. We didn't execute tonight and we fell behind and never really got back in it," Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "They're a good basketball team and they're even better at home. They threw the first punch and we didn't respond the way we should have."

NCCU (10-5) came in ranked among the national leaders in points allowed and field goal percentage defense and clamped down on the Jags en route to its 27th consecutive home win.

IUPUI (4-10) was slow to find its offense against NCCU as the Eagles soared to a 25-6 lead. NCCU orchestratred an emphatic 20-2 scoring edge to push an early 5-4 lead out to a 19-point advantage. The hosts made three treys during the run, capped by a Rashaun Madison connection, forcing Gardner to call his second first half timeout. Freshman Leo Svete halted the run at the free throw line before McCall and P.J. Boutte combined to score 12 of the Jaguars' final 14 points of the half.

Boutte stroked a pair of triples as IUPUI closed the half with a 10-2 surge to close within 32-22 at the break.

Any positive momentum the Jaguars built evaporated at halftime as NCCU opened the second half with the first seven points and a decisive 15-3 run to put the game away. Jawara punctuated the run with a steal and slam in front of his own bench.

More to follow...

IUPUI will open Summit League play when the Jaguars take on preseason favorite Fort Wayne on Sunday night (Jan. 3) at 7:00 p.m. inside the Gates Sports Center. The game will be heard on WNDE 1260 AM as Will Flemming (pxp) calls the action from courtside.

BOX SCORE


INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS