University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Siena
Panthers Comeback Falls Short at Siena, 81-75
2/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2009
Albany, N.Y. - Siena raced to a big early lead, and was able to hold off the University of Northern Iowa's comeback effort in the second half, as the Saints posted an 81-75 win Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 8,065 at the Times Union Center. The game was part of ESPNU BracketBusters Saturday.
UNI junior center Jordan Eglseder had his second straight double-double, and fifth of the season, with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. He was joined in double-figures by sophomore point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe, who had 13 points, and junior forward Adam Koch who had 11. Guards Ali Farokhmanesh and Travis Brown each chipped in nine for the Panthers. Siena was led by senior guard Kenny Hasbrouck, who scored a team-high 16 points.
Siena jumped to an early lead, scoring 11 of the game's first 13 points. The Panthers missed their first six shots from the field, and had four turnovers, in the first eight minutes of the game. The Saints extended their lead to double-digits, 14-4, after Hasbrouck drained a three-pointer, with 12 minutes left in the first half.
UNI would get no closer than that before intermission, as the Panthers' offense couldn't get untracked. UNI shot just 5-for-22 from the field (23 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, 1-for-10 from behind the arc. As cold as UNI was, Siena was equally as hot. The Saints were 17-for-31 from the floor (55 percent) in the first half, including 6-for-14 from three-point range. The Saints ended the half on a 9-3 run, as they went into the locker room with a 40-19 lead.
Trailing by their largest halftime margin of the season, UNI refused to fold, and fought back in the second half. Eglseder and Koch each had baskets to start the second 20 minutes, and the Panthers' offense began to click. Siena, however, was able to match UNI's scoring and the Panthers found themselves still down by 20, 57-37, with 11:20 left in the game.
UNI then went inside, as Eglseder, Koch and Lucas O'Rear combined to score all 10 points during a 10-0 Panthers run that got UNI within 57-47 with 6:41 on the clock. Siena was able to move its lead back to 65-51, with Ryan Rossiter scoring six of the Saints' eight points during that stretch.
The Panthers got hot from three-point range late, hitting 4-for-6 from downtown in the game's final three minutes. UNI cut Siena's lead to as little as five points with less than a minute to go, but Siena made 10 free throws in the game's final 1:34 to hang on for the victory. UNI put up 56 points in the second half, its highest 20-minute total of the season.
For the game, Siena shot 49 percent, while UNI connected on 40 percent of its field goals, and each team made seven three-pointers. The Panthers won the battle of rebounding, 36 to 31, and were 22-for-25 at the free throw line to 16-for-22 by Siena.
With the win, Siena improved to 22-6 overall, while UNI fell to 18-10. The Panthers delve back into Missouri Valley Conference play on Tuesday (Feb. 24), when they travel to face Illinois State. Tipoff from Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill., is set for 7:05 pm.
