University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Drake
Moran Leads UNI to 81-59 Win at Drake
1/17/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2009
Des Moines, Iowa - Freshman guard Johnny Moran scored 20 points and dished out five assists to lead the University of Northern Iowa to an 81-59 win at Drake on Saturday at the Knapp Center.
Moran drained a career-high tying six three-pointers, and UNI tied a season-high with 11 treys for the game. A total of four Panthers reached double-figures in scoring, as Kwadzo Ahelegbe (16 points, five rebounds, four assists), Lucas O'Rear (11 points, seven rebounds), and Jordan Eglseder (10 points, eight boards) paced the balanced offensive attack.
The win was UNI's sixth straight and improved its record to 12-6 overall, 6-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The victory also moved the Panthers into sole possession of first place in the Valley, one-half game ahead of Bradley, who plays at Southern Illinois tomorrow night. Drake fell to 13-6 overall, 4-3 in the MVC.
UNI got out of the gates quickly and never looked back. Moran and Farokhmanesh each hit three-pointers in first two minutes of the game, as the Panthers moved in front 8-3. Ahelegbe then scored in transition, and followed that up by finding Moran in the corner for another triple to give the Panthers a 13-3 advantage, forcing a Drake timeout.
But UNI kept the pressure on out of that break, with sizzling three-point shooting as the catalyst. Ahelegbe buried a three-point from the top of the key, Travis Brown had a conventional three-point play, and Farokhmanesh hit a trey of his own during a 14-4 run that pushed UNI's lead to 27-10 with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
The Panthers connected on 58 percent of their shots in the first half - including 8-for-17 (47 percent) from three-point range - and built their lead to as many as 27 points, 46-19, with just over two minutes to play. UNI entered the locker room with a 47-25 lead, after holding Drake to just 39 percent shooting, 2-for-12 (17 percent) on three-pointers.
UNI put away any thoughts of a Drake comeback early in the second half, as the Panthers got a layup from Eglseder, two baskets from Ahelegbe, and a three from Moran in the first three minutes after halftime to open a 56-25 lead. UNI, which held Drake without a field goal the first nine and a half minutes of the second half, held as much as a 37-point lead (65-28) with just over 10 minutes left in the game, with its lead at 30 or more points much of the rest of the way.
The Panthers shot 52 percent from the field for the game and 42 percent from three-point range (11-for-26), while holding Drake to 41 percent shooting and 28 percent on threes (7-for-25). UNI also outrebounded Drake, 35-30, and the Panthers had 17 assists and just four turnovers on the afternoon. Drake was led by Josh Parker, who had a game-high 25 points. The Bulldogs' leading scorer, Josh Young, had just three points and was held without a field goal.
UNI returns home to play host to Bradley on Wed., Jan. 21, with tipoff time from the McLeod Center set for 7:05 pm.
