The Jaguars got there with a classic 85-81 victory over East Tennessee State in the first game of the tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.

Akeem Clark scored a career-high 33 points, including nine 3-pointers, and Odell Bradley added 27 points to lead IUPUI (6-3).

"Those were two great mid-major programs just really battling it out," IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter said. "To be able to win it and not play our best ... we didn't play very smart tonight, but we made shots when we had to."

Clark, a 6-foot-2 guard, scored 24 of his points during the second half. He scored nine — on three 3-pointers — during a 17-2 surge that turned a 63-55 deficit into a 72-65 lead for the Jaguars with 6:23 remaining in the game.

"I just took my shots," said Clark, who was 12 of 18 from the field overall, and 9 of 15 from 3-point range. "I'm a role player and my role on the team is to take my shots when I can."

Clark's nine 3-pointers were two short of the Rainbow Classic record shared by Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott and Jackson State's Lindsey Hunter.

The Buccaneers had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Tim Smith missed a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining.

Bradley, who is among the top 10 scorers in NCAA Division I, scored 16 of his 27 in the first half. He entered the game averaging 22.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, but he did not grab a rebound last night for the first time in 23 games.

"That's why I thought this was a great win," Hunter said. "We did this without playing well."

East Tennessee State, which is ranked No. 5 in ESPN.com's Mid-Major Top 10, had all five of its starters score in double figures: Jerald Fields (18), Ben Rhoda (18), Smith (17), James Anthony (12) and Zakee Wadood (12).