University of Northern Iowa
Creighton
Panthers Open Valley Play With 60-52 Win at Creighton
12/29/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - The University of Northern Iowa nabbed a road conference-opening victory with a 60-52 triumph over the Creighton Bluejays. UNI ran its win streak to nine in a row and moved to 10-1 on the year.
Ali Farokhmanesh led the scoring attack with 15 points. He was joined in double figures by Kwadzo Ahelegbe with 12 points and Jordan Eglseder with 11 points.
UNI jumped out early on the Bluejays taking a 16-4 lead with 9:29 left in the first half. The early run was capped off by an Adam Koch 3-pointer. A fast-break layup by Johnny Moran upped the margin back to 12 at 18-6 as the Panthers held the Bluejays to two made field goals in the game's first 14:29.
A pair of free throws by Ahelegbe gave UNI its final 12-point lead of the night at 23-11 with 4:15 left before intermission. From that point forward, Creighton trimmed the lead to seven at the half with a 7-2 run.
Creighton kept momentum on their side in the second half and eventually took a 41-37 lead after a 3-pointer from Cavell Witter with 9:10 remaining in the game.
However, the Panther refused to give in to the Bluejays or their crowd of 17,152. UNI responded with a 14-3 run and turned it into a 51-44 advantage with 4:33 left in the game. The Panthers' run was keyed by a Farokhmanesh runner in the lane, a left-handed floater from Kerwin Dunham, a full-court drive for a layup by Lucas O'Rear and a bucket in the paint by Eglseder.
Eglseder buried another jumper in the lane to up the lead back to seven at 53-46 with 2:19 remaining. Creighton eventually trimmed the lead to three points at 55-52 on a layup by Antoine Young with 58 ticks left to give them hope.
But the Panthers drained 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to salt away the road win - UNI's second-straight win in the Qwest Center. Creighton was led by Witter's game-high 17 points. P'Allen Stinnett was limited to three points on 1-of-8 shooting.
UNI will return home for a pair of games this weekend against Evansville on Friday and Missouri State on Sunday. Friday's game against the Purple Aces will tip at 7:05 p.m., while Sunday's contest vs. the Bears will begin at 1:07 p.m.
