Jan. 18, 2007
Final Stats
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - All five starters scored in double figures to lead the University of Northern Iowa to a 75-65 win over Missouri State at the Hammons Student Center Thursday night. The win moved the Panthers to 14-4 overall, 5-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference. MSU fell to 14-5, 5-3 in league.
UNI senior forward Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) led the way with 15 points and added a team-high 12 rebounds, posting his fifth double-double in his last seven games. He was tied for game-high scoring honors by Travis Brown (Richfield, Minn.) who scored 11 of his 15 in the first half. Jared Josten (Webster City, Iowa) and Brooks McKowen (Fairbank, Iowa) each had 14, while Eric Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) had his ninth double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 boards.
Missouri State came out on fire, making five of six three-pointers in the game's first 10 minutes. That helped propel the Bears to a 25-16 lead, and they held their advantage for much of the first half. However, trailing 35-29 with 3:44 left, the Panthers ended the first half on a 12-0 run, turning a six-point deficit into a six-point lead (41-35) at the break. Josten and McKowen each nailed three-pointers during that stretch, including Josten hitting his as the first-half horn sounded.
UNI extended its lead early in the second half, pushing its lead to 51-40 on a Josten trey with just under 16 minutes left. The Panthers eventually built their lead to as many as 13 (61-48), after a Josten fastbreak layup with 7:57 left.
Missouri State answered with a three-pointer from Nathan Bilyeu, and then turned up the defensive pressure. The Bears forced four straight Panthers turnovers, as MSU went on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to pull within 61-60. With the near-capacity crowd of 8,923 going crazy, Missouri State finally tied the game, 63-all, on a Tyler Chaney free throw with 3:03 left.
UNI's Brown responded, hitting a 10-foot jumper in the lane, and then scoring in transition after a Coleman steal, to put the Panthers up 67-63. After MSU hit a free throw to pull within three, Josten hit yet another clutch three-pointer to give UNI a 70-64 lead with less than a minute left. The Panthers then hit enough free throws down the stretch to seal then win.
The Panthers, who have now won three straight games in Springfield, shot 51 percent for the game, including a sizzling 62.5 percent from three-point range (11-for-17). UNI connected on 8-of-10 from behind the arc in the first half. Missouri State shot just 38 percent from the field and was just 14-for-27 from the free throw line.
UNI returns to action this Saturday night (Jan. 20) when it hosts Indiana State at the McLeod Center. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
