University of Northern Iowa
Cal Poly
Coleman, Josten Lead UNI to 62-55 Win over Cal Poly
11/11/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2007
Cedar Falls, Iowa - UNI seniors Eric Coleman and Jared Josten each scored in double figures to lead the University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team to a 62-55 win over Cal Poly Saturday night at the McLeod Center on the second day of the BTI Tip-Off Tournament.
Coleman came off the bench to lead UNI with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Josten scored a career-best 17 points. The duo was a combined 15-for-17 at the free throw line (9-for-11 for Coleman, 6-for-6 for Josten), with all six of Josten's charity tosses coming in the final minute of play to help seal the win for the Panthers.
UNI jumped out to a 17-7 lead to start the game, as Josten hit a pair of three-pointers during the opening flurry. Cal Poly pulled to within five on two occasions, before a Coleman layup put the Panthers up, 24-17, with just over five minutes left in the half. The Mustangs then hit back-to-back treys to pull within one, and eventually took the lead, 30-29, on their sixth three-pointer of the game, with less than a minute to go. UNI's Adam Koch was fouled just before the first half horn sounded and hit one of two free throws to pull the Panthers even at 30-all heading into intermission.
There were four lead changes in the first five minutes of the second half, before the Panthers took the lead for good, 37-36, on a Koch layup. Coleman put the Panthers back up by five, 47-42, on a layin with just over 10 minutes to go. After a three-minute scoring drought by both teams, the Mustangs' Lorenzo Keeler hit a trey to pull his team to within 47-45. But Josten and Coleman had consecutive hoops to push UNI's lead back to six, and Cal Poly was unable to get closer than four points the rest of the way. Cal Poly was forced to foul late, and UNI made all eight of its free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
UNI shot 46 percent from the field for the game, and 84 percent (22-for-25) at the foul line. Cal Poly managed just 36 percent shooting, including 27 percent in the second half, and connected on just 8-of-27 three-point attempts.
With the win, UNI improved to 2-0 on the season while Cal Poly fell to 0-2. The BTI Tip-Off Tournament concludes tomorrow at the McLeod Center, with Cal Poly facing Northern Illinois (0-2) at 2:05 pm, followed by UNI and UMass (2-0) at 5:05 pm. Earlier today, UMass defeated Northern Illinois, 102-87.
