University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Iowa
Iowa Defeats UNI, 62-55
12/6/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2007
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Cedar Falls, Iowa - Eric Coleman came off the bench to score 13 points, but it was not enough as Iowa defeated the University of Northern Iowa, 62-55, in front of a capacity crowd of 7,043 at the McLeod Center.
Adam Viet, Adam Koch and Jordan Eglseder each had eight points for UNI, while Travis Brown added seven. Guard Jake Kelly led the Iowa with 19 points, while Tony Freeman added 15 and Justin Johnson had 13.
Iowa held a 14-9 lead midway through the first half after a Freeman three-pointer. UNI's Jared Josten responded with a trey of his own, followed by an Eglseder layup, to pull the Panthers even. After the Hawks went back up by four, 20-16, UNI scored six straight points to pull in front, 22-20, with just over five minutes left. A Brown layup extended UNI's advantage to 27-23, but Iowa closed the first half on a 10-3 run and held a 33-30 lead at intermission.
A Brown three-pointer, followed by a Coleman layup, pushed UNI in front, 38-35, early in the second half. But Iowa then went on a 10-1 run over the next five minutes to extend its lead to 45-39. The Hawkeyes pushed their lead to its largest margin, 53-45, on a three-pointer from J.R. Angle with six minutes remaining, and led 58-51 after a Freeman layup with 2:13 left.
Viet then hit a three-pointer to pull UNI within 58-54, and after the Panthers forced an Iowa turnover, Coleman was fouled and hit the first of two free throws with 55 seconds left. Coleman missed his second shot, and Koch grabbed the offensive rebound and found Kerwin Dunham in the corner, but his three-pointer that would have tied the game was off the mark. Iowa then hit four free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the win.
Iowa shot 50 percent from the field for the game, including hitting 10-of-17 three-pointers. UNI connected on 42 percent of its shots. The Hawkeyes also held a commanding 37-16 lead in rebounding.
UNI falls to 6-2 on the season, while Iowa improves to 6-4. The Panthers are next in action Saturday, Dec. 15 when they play host to Wartburg. Tipoff time from the McLeod Center is 7:05 pm.
