University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
*Indiana State
UNI Tops Indiana State, 74-64
1/20/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2007
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Cedar Falls, Iowa - Senior forward Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) scored a season-high 23 points to lead the University of Northern Iowa to a 74-64 win over Indiana State Saturday night in front of a McLeod Center record crowd of 6,929. The win improved UNI to 15-4 overall, 6-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference and into sole possession of first place in the conference. Indiana State fell to 11-7 overall, 4-4 in the MVC.
Stout hit 8-of-13 shots from the field, including nailing a career-best 5-of-8 on three-pointers. He also grabbed 12 rebounds, giving him six double-doubles in his last eight games. Four other Panthers reached double-figures in scoring, as Travis Brown (Richfield, Minn.) had 14, Eric Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) and Brooks McKowen (Fairbank, Iowa) each had 12, and Adam Viet (Ackley, Iowa) came off the bench to chip in with 10.
Coleman got UNI going, scoring the team's first six points, as the Panthers raced to an early 11-4 lead. After Coleman picked up his second foul midway through the first half, Indiana State was able to chip away at the Panthers' lead and eventually took a 22-18 advantage with 4:48 left after back-to-back three pointers by Cole Holmstrom.
That's when Stout took over.
The 6-8 forward nailed four treys over the final four and a half minutes of the first half, including a trey on three straight possessions, to push UNI to a 31-28 halftime lead. Stout scored 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, and the trio of Stout, Coleman and Viet accounted for 28 of the team's 31 first-half points.
Indiana State fought back in the second half, going up by as many as five (43-38) with 10:44 left. UNI's Brown hit treys on consecutive possessions to put the Panthers back in front, 44-43, but ISU's Trent Wurtz scored on a conventional three-point play the next time down the floor to give the Sycamores a 46-44 lead with 8:12 left.
The Panthers then used a decisive 9-0 run over the next three and a half minutes. Seven of UNI's nine points during that stretch came at the free throw line, including four by Coleman. ISU pulled back within five, 53-48, with 4:34 remaining, but the Panthers scored five straight to go up 58-48, with less than three minutes to go. UNI hit its free throws down the stretch to seal the 74-64 win.
UNI shot 51.2 percent from the field for the game, while holding Indiana State to 39.6 percent shooting. The Panthers made 10 three-pointers and were 20-for-26 at the free throw line.
The Panthers next game is Tuesday, Jan. 23, when they travel to Carbondale, Ill., to face Southern Illinois. Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m., with the game being televised by ESPNU.
