University of Northern Iowa
Northwestern State
Jacobson's Second Half Shooting Leads UNI to 69-62 Win
12/31/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2004
Las Vegas, Nev. - Junior guard Ben Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead the University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team to a 69-62 win over Northwestern State Friday night in the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. UNI finished the tournament with a 3-1 record in its four games, posting wins over Longwood, Valparaiso and NSU, with its loss being a double-overtime decision to Cincinnati.
Jacobson hit all five of his three-point attempts after halftime and hit 6-of-9 shots from the field overall in the second half. Also scoring in double figures for the Panthers on the night were junior guard Erik Crawford (Oakdale, Minn.) with 13 and freshman center Eric Coleman with 12. Crawford added a career-high 10 assists for his first double-double of the season.
The 6-3, 195-pound Jacobson got hot midway through the second half, hitting treys on three consecutive possessions to extend UNI's lead to 53-42 with 10:40 left in the game. Spurred on by Jacobson's offensive burst, the Panthers built their lead to as many as 15 points (63-48) with 6:54 left.
Northwestern State went on a 10-0 run to pull within five, 63-58, with 2:09 remaining. However, Crawford responded on the ensuing possession, hitting his only three-pointer of the game from the right wing to extend UNI's advantage to 66-58. The Panthers made three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seak the victory.
For the ninth time in 11 games, UNI shot better than 50 percent from the field. The Panthers connected on 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts (26-for-48), including 60 percent (15-for-25) in the second half. UNI made 9-of-17 from three-point range on the night.
With its sixth straight win, UNI improved to 9-2 on the season, while Northwestern State fell to 5-8. The Panthers next game is Monday, Jan. 3, 2005, when they host Illinois State at 7:05 p.m. in the UNI-Dome. That will mark UNI's opening game of Missouri Valley Conference play.
