University of Northern Iowa
*Bradley
UNI Defeats Bradley on Senior Day, 81-72
2/26/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2005
Cedar Falls, Iowa - A season-high six players scored in double figures today as the University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team posted an 81-72 win over Bradley at the UNI-Dome this afternoon.
Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) led the way with 14 points, and added a game-high 11 rebounds to post his eighth double-double of the season. Chris Foster (Ironton, Mo.) came off the bench to tie his season-high with 13 points, with Ben Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) also adding 13. Foster also became the 28th player in UNI history to reach 1,000 career points, ending the game with 1,010 in his five-year career.
Erik Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) had 12 points and a career-high six assists, while John Little (Peoria, Ill.) had a season-high and tied his career-high with 12 points off the bench. Erik Crawford (Oakdale, Minn.) had 11 points to round out the Panthers in double-figures.
UNI raced to a 42-31 halftime lead, as the Panthers connected on 57.1 percent of their shots in the first half (16-of-28), including nailing six three-pointers. Coleman had 10 of his 12 points in the opening half, and Foster had eight of his 12 in the first 20 minutes, including hitting a pair of three-pointers.
Bradley rallied in the second half, getting as close as four points, 60-56, after Lawrence Wright hit two free throws with 6:26 left. But Stout answered with a dunk on the next possession, and after a Bradley miss, Foster hit another three to extend UNI's lead back to nine, 65-56. The Braves pulled to within five points several times down the stretch, but UNI hit 12-of-14 free throws in the final 1:39 to seal the victory.
With the win, UNI claimed its 20th victory of the season, which marks the first time in school history that the Panthers have posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns. UNI was 21-10 a year ago, winning the 2004 Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA tournament.
The Panthers are now 20-9 overall, 10-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Bradley falls to 13-13 overall, 6-11 in the MVC. UNI closes out its regular season on Monday night (Feb. 28), when it travels to face Wichita State. Tipoff time is set for 8:05 p.m., and the game will be televised live on Fox Sports Midwest and Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
