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INDIANPOLIS, IND. – Poor first half shooting, a difference of 13 fouls, and costly mistakes down-the-stretch doomed North Carolina Central University as the Eagles dropped a 71-65 decision against the host Jaguars of IUPUI on Saturday afternoon inside The Jungle.

The loss ends NCCU's six-game winning streak, giving the maroon and gray a sour taste in their mouths heading into the exam break.

Through the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the game, the Eagles manage to score two field goals, while the Jaguars heated up leading 13-5, forcing head coach LeVelle Moton to call a timeout to wake his squad up. 

While the Eagles started the contest 2-for-13, IUPUI came out firing, riding high after their Wednesday night victory over Bradley going 5-for-7 from three-point range that included three from way downtown from P.J. Hubert, who entered the contest 4-for-19 (21.0 percent) from-the-outside.

NCCU connected on just nine first half field goals, went 0-for-8 from deep, but went 7-for-8 from the foul line and trailed by only eight at 33-25 heading into the locker room.

The second stanza saw the Eagles pick up the intensity, but the Jags kept adding to the lead holding on to a 14-point advantage at 44-30, their largest of the day, with 14:19 to go.

An 8-1 run around the midway portion of the frame, brought NCCU within six at 49-43 with 11:29 left, but IUPUI answered by scoring the next five points to make it 54-43.

With 7:40 to go, P.J. Hubert's three free throws put the Jaguars up 62-49 and the Eagles threw their best counterpunch of the day, going on a 10-0 that included the first of two second-half three pointers by senior Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) to give the maroon and gray some light as the score moved to 62-59 with 5:25 to go.

Four minutes later, an Alfonzo Houston (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) layup cut the margin to one at 64-63.  That was the closest NCCU got on the day as IUPUI outscored the Eagles the rest of the way 7-2 earning the 71-65 victory.

Despite the loss, Houston ended the day scoring a career-high in both points (24) and rebounds (7), and two steals playing in front of his family and friends as his hometown is a little less than four hours away.

Ingram finished in double figures with 16 points, but struggled from the field for the second straight game, going 6-for-18 that included a 2-for-11 (18.1 percent) effort from behind-the-arc.

Junior forward Jordan Parks (Queens, N.Y.) ended the evening with 12 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, while Jay Copeland (Suffolk, Va.) dropped-in 10 points grabbing five boards and swatting two shots in the loss.

For the Jaguars, Marcellus Barksdale led the way with 17 points going 9-for-11 from the foul line.  Ian Chiles added 14 points, as did Hubert, and Mitch Patton scored 11 points in the second straight win for IUPUI.

Despite the loss, NCCU outscored the Jags 42-22 in the paint, forced 14 turnovers, and won the second chance point battle 20-10.

Even though the Eagles only turned over 11 times, the Jaguars scored 22 points off the miscues as opposed to NCCU's 12.

The contest saw the Eagles whistled for 25 fouls as opposed to just 12 for the host Jags.  IUPUI finished the night 26-for-33 from the charity stripe that included a 24-for-31 erffort in the second stanza.  On the other side, NCCU finished the day 12-for-16 (75.0 percent) from-the-line.

The maroon and gray drops to 6-2 on the year and has 11 days off before getting back to action, returning to the nest as NCCU takes on Winthrop on Dec. 18 inside McDougald-McLendon Gym at 7:00 p.m.

For more information about NCCU athletics, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.