University of Northern Iowa
*Creighton
Creighton Edges UNI, 83-82
2/9/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2005
Omaha, Neb. - Junior guard Ben Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) scored a career-high 31 points, but it was not enough as the University of Northern Iowa fell to Creighton, 83-82, Wednesday night at the Qwest Center.
Jacobson hit 14-of-24 shots from the field on the night, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and also grabbed seven rebounds, had four assists and two steals. He scored 22 points in the second half alone, with 10 coming in the game's final 42 seconds during a furious rally that nearly saw the Panthers pull out the victory.
The game was tied at 60-all with just over six minutes remaining when Creighton went on a 9-0 run to open a 69-60 edge with 3:04 left. UNI cut the lead to six on several occasions, but was forced to foul as the game drew to a close, and the Bluejays responded by hitting 10 straight free throws at one stretch.
Still, UNI kept answering Creighton's scores, and when Jacobson hit a deep trey with nine seconds left it pulled UNI within 83-79. Creighton's Tyler McKinney then missed both free throws, and Jacobson pulled up in transition and nailed a 25-footer to pull the Panthers within one, 83-82, but less than a second remained in the game. Creighton inbounded the ball to earn the victory.
Creighton jumped out to an early 14-3 lead in the game's opening five minutes, hitting six of its first seven shots from the field. UNI battled back to pull within one, 19-18, on a Pete Schmit (St. Charles, Ill.) three-pointer with 9:29 left. But Creighton answered with a jumper by Nate Funk and a Kellen Miliner three-pointer to extend its lead to 26-18. The Bluejays held a 33-28 lead at halftime.
UNI went on a 12-3 run to open the second half and open its largest lead of the game, 40-36, with 17:07 left. Jacobson and Brooks McKowen (Fairbank, Iowa) each had three-pointers during that stretch. The Panthers last held the lead, 58-57, after an Eric Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) layup with 6:48 left.
The Panthers shot 51.6 percent from the field for the game (32-for-62), including 11-for-21 on threes. UNI hit 60.6 percent of its shots in the second half (20-for-33). Creighton was nearly as accurate, shooting 50.9 percent from the field (27-for-53). UNI won the battle of the boards, 32-29, but Creighton hit 22-of-24 free throws on the night, while UNI hit just 7-of-14.
Coleman scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while McKowen had nine points, on three three-pointers. Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) had nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.
With the loss, UNI falls to 16-8 overall, 7-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Creighton improves to 15-9, 7-6 in the MVC. UNI's next game is this Saturday (Feb. 12), when it travels to face Illinois State. Tipoff is set for 4:05 p.m.
