University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Denver
Panthers Defeat Denver, 61-56, in Season-Opener
11/15/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2008
Cedar Falls, Iowa - Junior center Jordan Eglseder came of the bench to score 17 points, and freshman point guard Johnny Moran had a double-double in his college debut, to lead the University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team to a 61-56 win over the University of Denver this afternoon in the season-opener for both schools.
Eglseder, who just began practicing earlier this week after missing virtually the entire preseason with a foot injury, connected on 8-of-9 shots in his 21 minutes of action, and also grabbed four rebounds. Moran had 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, hitting a pair of three-pointers and nailing all six of his free throws. Ali Farokhmanesh and Adam Koch also scored in double-figures for UNI with 13 and 11 points, respectively, while Kwadzo Ahelegbe led the way with five assists. Denver's Nate Rohnert led all players with 20 points.
Moran started the game off with five straight points, on a short runner in the lane and a three, as the Panthers built a 7-2 lead. Denver was ice-cold at the start, missing seven of its first eight shots. The Pioneers' Rob Lewis tied the score at nine on a conventional three-point play with 9:33 left in the first half, and Denver took its first lead, 12-11, on a Lewis jumper from behind the three-point arc.
UNI moved back in front 15-14 on an Eglseder layup with 6:46 on the clock, and a Brown trey from the top of the key put UNI in front 19-16 with three minutes left. Denver scored the final four points of the half to take a 20-19 lead into the locker room.
To start the second half, Denver's Kyle Lewis hit a trey to give the Pioneers their largest lead, 23-19, with 18:29 on the clock. But Farokhmanesh answered with a triple of his own on the next possession, and the back-and-forth basketball began. There were seven ties and five lead changes over the next 13 minutes, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage.
After Denver's starting center, Andrew Hooper, picked up his fourth foul with 16:39 left in the game, Eglseder and Koch capitalized on their decided size advantage went to work. Each player scored 11 points in the second half, scoring 11 of UNI's 13 points at one stretch.
Denver's Nate Rohnert hit a three-pointer to give UD a 42-39 lead with 6:37 left. After a UNI miss, Moran fought for an offensive rebound on the next possession, which started five straight Panther points, going in front 44-42 on an Eglseder layup with 5:14 remaining. On the next possession, Nigel Peter-Denman hit a three from the left wing to put the Pioneers in front, 45-44, but UNI then hit eight straight free throws and got a layup from Ahelegbe to open a 54-48 advantage.
After a Sabatino Chen three-pointer pulled Denver within 54-51 with 1:13 left, Moran hit perhaps the biggest basket of the game. With the shot clock running down, he drained a deep three from the right wing to extend the Panthers' lead to 57-51 with 41 seconds left. Moran and Farokhmanesh each hit a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the 61-56 victory.
UNI shot 49 percent from the field for the game, including 57 percent (12-for-21) in the second half. Denver connected n 47 percent of its shots, 52 percent after intermission, and hit on seven of its eight treys after halftime. For the game, UNI was 17-for-20 at the free throw line while Denver was 8-for-12.
It was UNI's sixth straight season-opening win, and eighth consecutive home-opening victory. The Panthers hit the road for the first time on Wed., Nov. 19, when they travel to face Illinois-Chicago. Tipoff time from UIC Pavilion is set for 7:00 pm.
