University of Northern Iowa
LSU
UNI Wins at LSU, 54-50
12/19/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2005
Baton Rouge, La. -- Junior forward Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) had a season-high 18 points to lead the University of Northern Iowa to a 54-50 win at LSU Monday night. The loss was just the third in the last 66 non-conference games for the Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
With the win - its fifth straight -- UNI improved to 8-1 on the season. That marks the school's best nine-game start to a basketball season in 42 years, as the 1963-64 squad started 10-0 en route to a 23-4 overall record. LSU fell to 6-2 with the loss.
Stout hit 9-of-13 shots from the field, and also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Stout also excelled defensively, holding LSU star forward Glen Davis to just 13 points (6-of-13 shooting) and four rebounds. Davis entered the game averaging 19.4 points and 11.9 boards per game.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, featuring four ties and 15 lead changes. A three-pointer by Eric Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) gave UNI a 23-19 lead with just over seven minutes left. LSU answered with six straight points to take a 25-23 lead, before Jacobson scored three straight points to give the Panthers a 26-25 advantage with 2:39 left. Neither team scored again until LSU's Tasmin Mitchell hit a jumper in the lane with 10 seconds to go, giving the Tigers a 27-26 lead heading into halftime.
UNI took the lead for good, 40-38, on a three-pointer by sophomore Adam Viet (Ackely, Iowa) with 9:20 left in the game. That started an 8-0 run, which also included a layup by Stout and a trey by John Little (Peoria, Ill.), that pushed the Panthers' advantage to 45-38 with 7:48 remaining. LSU cut the lead to two points on several occasions, including 52-50 with 16 seconds left on a three-pointer by Darrel Mitchell. However, Erik Crawford (Oakdale, Minn.) hit two free throws right after that to seal the win.
One of the keys to the game was rebounding. LSU entered the game leading the nation in rebounding margin at +22.9, averaging 50.6 caroms per contest. UNI was able to stay with the Tigers, as LSU held just a 31-30 edge in rebounding.
Crawford had 12 points for the Panthers and Jacobson added 11. Coleman had seven points and seven rebounds. LSU's Darrel Mitchell led all players with 22 points.
Tonight's game was part of the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. Both UNI and LSU now head to Las Vegas, where they will each play two games at Valley High School. The Panthers will face Hawaii Pacific on Thursday, Dec. 22 at 4:30 p.m. (CST), and square off with Dayton on Friday, Dec. 23 at 7:00 p.m. (CST).
