Cougars Fall in Overtime at NCAA D1 IUPUI

(Indianapolis, IN)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team cut their Thanksgiving break short to travel to Indianapolis, as they took on the NCAA Division 1 IUPUI Jaguars in an exhibition matchup Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars would use some some stifling defense and timely shooting to build a six point halftime lead, as the teams went into the break with Cleary leading 33-27.  The second half saw Cleary build an eight point lead early in the half, their largest of the game, but IUPUI would slowly but surely climb back into the game, and eventually taking a five point lead of their own.  Cleary would storm back to tie the game with just over a minute to go in the game, and after forcing a turnover, had a chance to win the game in regulation with the last shot.  Bennie Crenshaw Jr.'s number was called, and his shot went halfway down the basket, but didn't go all the way through, and overtime would be needed to decide the winner.

In overtime, the Jaguars quickly took the lead, and some missed free throws by the Cougars allowed the lead to remain too large to overcome, as IUPUI held on to win by a 78-70 final score.

Bennie Crenshaw Jr. led the Cougar attack with 16 points, to go with 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Chris Williams was a dominant force in the first half, but was held in check in the second half, finishing the game with 12 points and 4 rebounds.  Case Conley also had 12 points in the game to go with 2 rebounds.  Nick Moore added 8 points and Brockton Kohler chipped in 7 in the game.

Cleary shot 27-50 (54%) from the floor in the game, but did not shoot the ball well from the free throw line, as the Cougars were 12-26 (46.2%) from the game.  IUPUI held the rebound advantage at 34-31, and forced Cleary into 22 turnovers to the Jaguars' 17.

Cleary will resume WHAC play on Tuesday, November 28, when they host the Aquinas College Saints at Gannon Gymnasium on the campus of Lansing Community College.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM.