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Leroy Nobles & Ron Hunter
NOBLES GAME-WINNER GIVES JAGS FIRST-EVER WIN OVER BIG EAST FOE
Sophomore banks home runner as time expires to knock off Seton Hall, 67-65
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NEWARK, NJ - Sophomore Leroy Nobles came up with back-to-back big plays including the game-winner as time expired to propel IUPUI to a 67-65 win at Seton Hall on Saturday night. After SHU's Jeremy Hazell tied the game at 65 all on a three with 11 seconds left, Nobles answered by splitting a pair of defenders from the right block and getting his bank shot to fall before the final horn. 

Nobles finished with six points, but scored IUPUI's final four points of the night. Hazell led all scorers with 20 points and freshman Alex Young had 18  on 8-of-14 shooting to lead the Jaguars. 

JUCO-transfer Robert Glenn chipped in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in just 17 minutes before fouling out and Billy Pettiford registered his fourth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. All 10 of Pettiford's boards came off the defensive glass as the 6-foot-7 junior notched his first double-double of the season.

IUPUI (6-4) led by double-digits early in the second half, but found itself clinging for dear life inside the final minutes. Freshman Larry Stone put IUPUI up 62-57 by splitting a pair of free throws with 48 seconds left, but Hazell countered by burying a 28-footer, making it 62-60. 

Sophomore John Ashworth was able to make it 63-60 by splitting two freebies with 40 seconds left, but Seton Hall's (8-2) Robert Mitchell came back with a floater at the other end to cut the lead down to one. After Jon Avery was immediately fouled on the inbounds pass, the 6-foot-7 junior missed both tries with 29 ticks left. However Nobles swooped in for the offensive rebound, his only carom of the night, and proceeded to make two foul shots after being hit. 

Hazell then tied the game before Nobles won it. 

The win was IUPUI's first-ever over a BIG EAST opponent in eight tries. It was also the Jaguars first win over a BCS conference opponent since 2002. Head Coach Ron Hunter's team narrowly missed knocking off Indiana and Arizona State earlier this season. It also snapped Seton Hall's five-game winning streak.

"I'm really happy and excited for our kids," Hunter said. "They deserved this one. We've come so close, but tonight we finally got over that hump. Honestly, I think this is going to get us going and carry us through these last couple non-conference games.

"We just keep getting better. The young guys are starting to get it and we're starting to play more as a team."

On Saturday, Hunter got contributions from all eight Jaguars that saw action as his squad never trailed. 

IUPUI surged out to a 13-5 advantage before the first media timeout, capped by a long three from Young and an easy layup from Pettiford. The Pirates closed within one at 22-21 on back-to-back Mike Davis buckets, but the Jaguars came back with an 11-0 run en route to a 33-23 halftime advantage. 

Stone started the burst with his first career trey and Glenn punctuated it with consecutive dunks along the way. 

Seton Hall methodically pulled closer during the second half, but was never able to overtake the lead. Paul Gause made it 52-49 with 6:09 left when he collected a steal and transition layup, but Glenn returned the favor with five straight points to keep IUPUI in front. 

"We always had an answer for them," Hunter said. "And it was a number of different players too. Alex made plays, Billy Pettiford made plays, Robert Glenn came up with big buckets. I'm just really proud of all my guys."

IUPUI hit 47 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Pirates 33-29 overall. Plus, the Jaguars only turned the ball over 11 times against a defense that came in forcing over 17 miscues a ballgame. The lone blemish on the IUPUI docket was foul shooting as the Jaguars hit just 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) at the line. The Jaguars missed 10 second half attempts including four in the final minute. 

Jordan Theodore had 13 points off the bench and Mitchell had a double-double for the hosts with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

"We still need to work on closing out games," Hunter said. "Fortunately, we were able to overcome it tonight. We're going to keep working and keep getting better, but the only thing we're thinking about now is Indiana State."

IUPUI returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Indiana State inside downtown Conseco Fieldhouse at 1:00 p.m.. Pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on XL 950 while tickets are still available by contacting the IUPUI Athletics Office at 317-274-5453. That game can also be seen online as part of the IUPUI LIVE! subscription package.
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