University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
*Indiana State
Panthers Top Indiana State, 69-61
1/26/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2005
Cedar Falls, Iowa - Freshman center Eric Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) scored 10 of his 14 points in the final nine minutes of the game to help lead the University of Northern Iowa to a 69-61 win over Indiana State Wednesday night in the UNI-Dome.
With UNI holding a 57-56 lead and 2:28 left, Coleman tipped in a Ben Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) miss, and then after a Sycamores' missed three-pointer, Coleman scored again in the paint to give the Panthers a five-point lead. ISU would get no closer than three-points the rest of the way, as UNI hit all six of its free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Coleman picked up two quick fouls at the start of both the first and second halves, being limited to five minutes played over the first 30 minutes of the game. But after entering the contest with 10 minutes left and the Panthers clinging to a 44-42 lead, he hit five field goals and grabbed all six of his rebounds down the stretch to help lead UNI to the win.
In the opening half, UNI's recent shooting trouble continued, as the Panthers managed just 37.5 percent from the field (12-for-32), including 1-for-10 on three-pointers. But UNI still led at the break, 27-22, as it held ISU to just 29.2 percent shooting (7-for-24).
The Panthers warmed up in the second half from the field, connecting on 60 percent of their shots (15-for-25). Coleman and Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) combined to hit on 12-of-16 shots from the field for the night.
Jacobson led the way with 15 points for UNI, while Stout had 12 and Erik Crawford (Oakdale, Minn.) added 10. Stout posted his seventh double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Indiana State's David Moss led all players with 28 points, 26 of them coming in the second half.
With the win, UNI improves to 14-6 overall, 5-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Indiana State falls to 7-13, 2-7 in the MVC. The Panthers travel to Des Moines, Iowa, this Saturday (Jan. 29) to face Drake, with tipoff set for 7:05 p.m.
