University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
University of Massachusetts
UNI Improves to 3-0 With 75-68 Win over UMass
11/11/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2007
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Cedar Falls, Iowa - Tournament Most Valuable Player Eric Coleman scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team to a 75-68 win over Massachusetts tonight in the finale of the BTI Tip-Off Tournament, hosted by UNI at the McLeod Center. The Panthers claimed the season-opening tournament championship by posting a 3-0 record, while UMass suffered its first loss of the year and fell to 2-1.
Coleman connected on 8-of-10 shots from the field, and over the three games this weekend, was a collective 16-for-22 from the field. He averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds over the three games. He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Adam Koch (17 points, seven rebounds versus the Minutemen) and Jared Josten (12 points, five boards). UMass' Gary Forbes, also named to the all-tournament team, scored 29 points tonight, the most ever by a men's player in the McLeod Center.
UNI got out of the gate quickly, jumping to a 13-4 lead eight minutes in. Koch had the Panthers first six points, and Jon Montgomery hit a three from the corner to spark the early run. UMass scored five straight to pull within 13-9, but Josten and Montgomery hit back-to-back treys, starting a 14-0 UNI run over four minutes that saw the its lead swell to 27-9. Coleman added a jump hook and a conventional three-point play to help spur UNI on. The Panthers' lead got as large as 20 (31-11), but the Minutemen finished the half on a 9-2 spurt to pull within 33-20 at intermission.
The Panthers increased their lead early in the second half, as center Jordan Eglseder had a layup and a three-pointer, during an 8-2 early run that put UNI in front 41-22. The Panthers held a double-digit lead for much of the second half, but UMass made a charge late. Trailing 60-48 with six minutes remaining, the Minutemen went on an 11-2 run to pull within 62-59, with Forbes scoring five points along the way. But UNI made 11-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes, including all four from Koch. Eglseder might have had the night's biggest free throws, however. After Koch was fouled while shooting with 24 second left and UNI in front 69-66, he had to leave the game due to blood being on his elbow. In stepped the 7-1 sophomore from Bellevue - who hadn't played in nearly seven minutes - and he calmly stepped to the line and drained both shots in Koch's place. Coleman and Josten each hit a pair of charity tosses in the final 20 seconds to seal the victory.
For the game, UNI connected on 49 percent of its shots, and was 25-for-31 from the foul line, including Koch being a career-best 13-for-14. UMass shot 35 percent from the floor and was just 5-for-28 on three-pointers. UNI also won the rebounding battle, 40-34.
UNI's next game is a week from today (Nov. 18), when it travels to face UW-Milwaukee. Tipoff is set for 2:05 pm.
2007 BTI Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament Team
Matt Hanson, Cal Poly Gary Forbes, UMass Ricky Harris, UMass Jared Josten, UNI Adam Koch, UNI MVP: Eric Coleman, UNI
