Men's Basketball falls to IUPUI in the Mid-Con Semi-Finals
ORU Sports Information

Fort Wayne, Ind. - IUPUI used a 9-0 run to rally past the Golden Eagles, 58-53 in the semifinals of the Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament here late Monday evening.

ORU, the No.-2 seed in the tournament, played without leading scorer and rebounder Reggie Borges (14.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and trailed most of the game before taking its first lead of the second half on Tyrone Tiggs' layup with 4:47 to play.

IUPUI (15-14), the No.-6 seed, tied the game at 49-49 on the following possession thanks to a jumper by Josh Mullins.

But senior reserve forward Kyle Stewart sparked a 4-0 run with a layup, and the Golden Eagles' only other senior, Markius Barnes, added a pair of free throws to give ORU a 53-49 advantage with 2:51 to go.

With 2:21 remaining, IUPUI closed the margin to 53-51 when Matt Crenshaw's jumper bounced off the rim and was batted back into the air by a couple of players, but came down straight through the basket. The score was credited to Crenshaw because he was the last IUPUI player to hold possession.

That seemed to turn the momentum in favor of the Jaguars, who later cut ORU's lead to 53-52 on a free throw by Antoine Lewis and took the lead for good on a layup by Crenshaw with 59 seconds to play.

ORU failed to score on its next possession and Taj Hawkins made two free throws to stake IUPUI to a 56-53 lead with 36 seconds remaining.

The Golden Eagles had the ball with a chance to tie late, but an offensive foul was charged to Luke Spencer-Gardner as he drove to the basket with 24 seconds left.

Lance Williams closed out the scoring with two free throws to count for the final margin with 23 seconds remaining.

ORU struggled offensively the entire night, shooting a season-low 30.9 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles trailed just 25-23 at the half, despite shooting 24.1 percent from the floor the first stanza.

Tiggs led ORU with 14 points and tied his career-high of nine rebounds in the loss. Barnes added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in his final collegiate game, while Richie Myers contributed 10 points as well.

Kendrick Moore scored just two points, but contributed seven rebounds and an ORU single-game and Mid-Con Tournament Record nine blocks.

Charles Price led IUPUI, who had been beaten twice by ORU during the regular season, with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He was the only Jaguar player in double-figures, as he team shot just 36.2 percent from the field for the game.

With the win, the Jaguars advanced to the Mid-Con Tournament Championship Game against regular-season champion Valparaiso, but lost in that effort. ORU concluded its season with a 17-14 overall record, the school's most wins since the 1998-99 season.

Finals Schedule