University of Northern Iowa
Iowa
UNI Posts 67-50 Win Over Iowa
12/8/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
For more highlights and post-game reaction log on to UNI Athletics on YouTube
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team posted a 67-50 win over the in-state rival Iowa Hawkeyes in front of 6,480 fans in the McLeod Center Tuesday night.
The Panthers have tallied wins this season over opponents from the Big Ten (Iowa), Big 12 (Iowa State) and ACC (Boston College) - no other program in the country can boast of that claim.
The Panthers were led by junior point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe's game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Seniors Adam Koch and Jordan Eglseder also reached double figures with 10 points apiece.
The Hawkeyes took a quick 6-2 lead behind three-pointers from Anthony Tucker and Matt Gatens, but the Panthers responded with a 22-1 run to seize control of the contest. In the midst of the 22-1 run was a 17-0 spurt that was capped by an Anthony James' bucket in the lane with 11:18 remaining in the first half. James's basket gave UNI a 19-6 lead.
Adam Koch tossed in a basket and sophomore Johnny Moran drained a three-pointer to cap the run to give UNI a commanding 24-7 lead with 9:04 left in the first half.
UNI eventually opened up a 17-point lead at 27-10 and 29-12 before Iowa clawed back to within 10 at 34-24 on a free throw from Cully Payne with 1:25 left in the half. Adam Koch made one of two free throws to make it 35-24 at the break.
Iowa again challenged UNI in the second half and trimmed the lead to 39-33 on a basket by Gatens, but a 9-0 run keyed by six straight points from Ahelegbe pushed the margin back to 15 at 48-33 with 13:25 left in the game.
The Hawkeyes made one more push at the Panthers after back-to-back buckets by Jarryd Cole and Tucker cut the lead to 51-43 with 8:41 left. But a 10-2 spurt by the Panthers, in which Ahelegbe scored six of the 10, gave UNI a 61-45 lead with 5:52 to go and all but ended the contest.
Another Moran three-pointer with 2:14 left gave UNI its biggest lead of the night at 20 points.
UNI will be back in action Saturday in the McLeod Center at 7:07 p.m. against the Siena Saints.
NOTES: With UNI's win tonight over Iowa gave the Panthers wins over Iowa and Iowa State in the same season for only the third time in school history (1997-98, 2005-06 and 2009-10) ... UNI ran its win streak to five in a row ... UNI shot 54.3 percent for the game and scored 31 points off Iowa turnovers.
