University of Northern Iowa
*Evansville
Evansville Shoots Down UNI, 92-73
1/7/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2005
Evansville, Ind. - Evansville shot a blistering 67.3 percent from the field, including 12-of-20 from three-point range, to defeat the University of Northern Iowa, 92-73, at Roberts Stadium Friday night.
UNI's Ben Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) led all scorers with 26 points, including 21 in the first half, and this marked the sixth time this season Jacobson has scored 20 or more points. He connected on 9-of-10 field goals in the opening 20 minutes to keep the Panthers close, as Evansville held a 46-38 advantage at intermission.
UNI pulled within six with a layup by Eric Coleman (Oakdale, Minn.) on the first possession of the second half, but that would be as close as the Panthers would get. An Andre Burton three-pointer gave UE a 55-44 lead with just over 16 minutes left, and UNI would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
The Purple Aces hit on 69 percent of their field goals in the first half and 65 percent in the second half. The Panthers were able to keep pace in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 56 percent of their field goals. But UNI cooled off to just 35 percent shooting in the second half as Evansville pulled away.
UNI junior guard Erik Crawford (Oakdale, Minn.) had 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds on the night. Senior guard Chris Foster (Ironton, Mo.) came off the bench to score nine points and dish out four assists.
Evansville was led by Bradley Strickland who had a career-high 24 points, while Lucious Wagner added 22.
The Panthers fell to 10-3 overall, 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference and saw their seven-game winning streak snapped. Evansville improved to 8-4 overall, 2-2 in the MVC. UNI's next game is Sunday (Jan. 9) at Indiana State, with tip time set for 2:05 p.m (central).
