University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
*Wichita State
Buzzer-Beater Gives UNI 67-66 Win over Wichita State
3/1/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2005
Wichita, Kan. - Junior guard Ben Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) hit a three-pointer as time expired to give the University of Northern Iowa a 67-66 win over Wichita State in front of a sellout crowd of 10,468 at Charles Koch Arena Monday night.
UNI trailed, 66-64, with 4.7 seconds left after WSU's Adam Liberty hit a 12-footer in the lane to give the Shockers the lead. Erik Crawford (Oakdale, Minn.) inbounded the ball to Eric Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) at midcourt. Coleman then turned and fed Jacobson, who then raced down the left sideline. Dribbling with his left hand, Jacobson stopped near the left wing and let fly a 22-footer over the outstretched hand of Liberty. As the buzzer sounded, Jacobson's ball went through the net to give the Panthers the victory.
Jacobson's heroics capped a remarkable UNI comeback, as the Panthers trailed virtually the entire way, including 64-54 with 2:51 left. But WSU had four turnovers and missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity down the stretch, which help spark a 10-0 UNI run. Crawford had a key steal late in the game, and his three-pointer from the right corner tied the game at 64-all with 13 seconds left.
Wichita State outshot UNI, 53.5 percent to 45.8 percent, and held a 33-22 edge in rebounding. But UNI tied its season low with just five turnovers, while forcing Wichita State into 18 miscues. UNI was also 8-for-10 from the free throw line, all coming in the second half, while WSU was 12-for-14 from the charity stripe.
Jacobson led all players with 24 points, hitting 10-of-17 shots from the field, and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Fellow backcourt mate Crawford added 20 points and four boards, while John Little (Peoria, Ill.) came off the bench to chip in with eight points, three assists and three steals. Paul Miller had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Wichita State.
With the win, UNI ends its regular season 21-9 overall, 11-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference and in a tie for third place with Creighton. Wichita State falls to 19-8 overall, 12-6 in MVC action. UNI's next game is this Saturday (Mar. 5) in the quarterfinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament, when the fourth-seeded Panthers will face fifth-seeded Southwest Missouri State (16-11, 10-8 MVC) at 2:30 p.m. at the Saavis Center in St. Louis, Mo.
