After a short leaner by point guard Alec Millender, IU Indianapolis led at home against University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 71-64, with 3:52 remaining in the Horizon League match-up.
It was a golden opportunity for the Jaguars to pick up a 2nd conference game in a row and to break what was a 9-game losing streak over a 4-year period against the Panthers going into last night’s game between the 2 teams.
The Jags only scored 2 points for the rest of regulation, though, and the result was too familiar. Milwaukee used efficient offense, stingy defense, and timely free throw shooting to knot the score up at 73-73 and force overtime.
The Jaguars had their chances again in the extra period. Sean Craig’s deep 3 from the right wing had the home team up again, 80-77, at the 2:19 mark.
That’s when disaster struck. On the next trip down the court, reserve 6-6 forward Keenan Garner picked up his consequential 5th foul. This was an even-bigger problem because 6-8 starter DeSean Goode–who had scored 11 points and snagged 12 rebounds in 31 minutes of action in the game–had fouled out less than 1 minute into overtime.
It was that freshmen combination of Garner (9 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes) and Goode that had held the bigger front line of the Panthers at bay for much of the game, but with Garner suddenly out of eligibility to stay in the game, in came Caleb Hannah.
Hannah had played a little bit in the game, but if you read the IU Indy athletics website carefully, you notice an interesting fact about him: he’s listed as a guard.
“At 6-7, you can kind of play one through the five,” 1st-year head coach Paul Corsaro said about Hannah. “…that’s the nice thing about his length and versatility and athleticism.”
After the loss of their 2nd big man, the Jaguars were unable to find their own basket the rest of the way (missing 4 straight contested 3-pointers by 3 different players) and gave up points on 3 consecutive possessions to seal the heartbreaking loss, 84-80.
Statistically, the Panthers usually get balanced scoring, and that was true again against IU Indy, as 4 players scored in double figures. Redshirt senior guard Erik Pratt was especially notable with 17 points and 6 rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench while AJ McKee was in foul trouble for much of the game.
“We’re not happy with, you know, being right there and losing by four in overtime,” Corsaro emphasized. “We need to win these games and…No, discredit to Milwaukee, they’re a really talented team and Bart’s an incredible coach…but I feel like the Jaguars beat the Jaguars today, more than anything.”
Hannah’s insertion into the lineup late had not been the first creative move by the Jags, who had Timaris Brown–who might otherwise have been entering the game when Hannah did in overtime–on the bench and dressed in street clothes.
They had also played a pesky zone defense for most of the evening. “When you have about seven healthy players, you’re not left with many options,” Corsaro said. “So we’re just trying to save some legs right now.”
