Travis Kriens

After holding Summit League Preseason Player of the Year George Hill in check for the first 30 minutes, SDSU lost him. Hill went on a one-man run to lead the Jaguars over SDSU 70-56 on Feb. 7 in front of 1,491 fans at Frost Arena. The loss was the seventh in the last eight games for the Jacks. Hill was held to four points in the first half while the Jacks kept pace trailing 26 -24 at the half.

The opportunity presented itself for SDSU (7-16, 2-10 Summit) at the start of the second half as IUPUI turned the ball over on its first six possessions. By the time the Jags converted on their first field goal of the half, the score was tied at 28.

IUPUI (18-5, 10-2 Summit) threatened to pull away with a quick 7-0 run before senior Michael Loney hit his lone three-pointer of the game to make the score 40-35 IUPUI.

With 10:29 left in the game, Hill scored 19 of the next 22 Jaguar points, pushing the lead to as much as 17 points. Hill led all players with 23 points on eight of 12 from the field.

“You can only hope to hold a player like that down for a certain amount of time. Once he gets a feel for it, he’s a hard player to stop,” said freshman guard Clint Sargent.

For the Jacks, Kai Williams and Sargent each had a team high 13 points, with Ben Beran and Williams both collecting six rebounds.

SDSU was not shy from beyond the arch, putting up 24 three-pointers but making only seven. In their last two games, the Jacks have shot 50 three-pointers, connecting on only 26 percent.

“The score isn’t an indication of how well SDSU played against us,” IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. “Out of all the teams we play, this one gives us fits. [Scott Nagy] is going to have a good team the next couple of years.”

The Jackrabbits were perfect for the second time this season from the foul line, shooting 13 of 13. The men set a school record earlier this season at home on Jan. 5 against IPFW going 14 of 14 from the charity stripe.

With four of the last six games of the season at home, including the final three, Nagy wants to give more players time on the court, because at this point in the season, some guys are wearing down. “I have got to play my bench more and get some of my guys minutes,” he said. “It’s going to be important that when I play those guys, they earn my confidence. If you are coming off the bench and show that you’re not ready to play, there’s a pretty good chance that you won’t get back into the game.”