University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois - Edwardsville
UNI Extends Home-Court Winning Streak to 21 With 68-47 Victory Over SIU Edwardsville
12/19/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team posted win No. 21 in a row in the McLeod Center with a 68-47 victory over Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Sunday in the second round of the iBN Las Vegas Classic.
UNI (7-3 overall) used a 39-20 edge in rebounding to distance itself from the SIUE Cougars (2-11 overall). UNI was led in scoring by sophomore guard Lucas O'Rear as each posted 12 points.
The Panthers used a decisive 21-3 run in the first half to turn a tie game at 10-10 into a 31-13 lead with 4:43 left before intermission. Included in that run was a 9-0 spurt and a 12-1 spurt. SIUE made one field goal from the 15:37 mark to the 4:14 mark in the first half.
SIUE used a 9-0 run that carried over from the first half into the second half to cut the UNI lead to 36-28 with 16:42 to play. But a hook shot from sophomore forward Austin Pehl pushed the lead back to 10 and SIUE would not get back within double digits the rest of the way.
UNI's biggest lead of the game came on the final basket of the contest as redshirt freshman Matt Morrison scored with 33 seconds left for the 68-47 victory.
The Panthers will travel to Las Vegas to take part in the second segment of the iBN Las Vegas Classic. UNI will take on the Indiana Hooisers on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (Central). UNI will then play either New Mexico or Colorado on Thursday. UNI's game on Thursday will be at 9 p.m. (Central) if it beats Indiana, and would be at 6:30 p.m. (Central) if it loses to Indiana. Both games will be televised live on CBS College Sports.
NOTES: Austin Pehl (7 points) and Matt Morrison (6 points) each tallied career-highs in the win over SIUE ... Jake Koch notched a career-best 8 assists in the triumph ... Marc Sonnen grabbed a career-high six rebounds against the Cougars ... Johnny Moran drained a 3-pointer to give him a streak of 12 straight games with at least one made 3-pointer ... it was the 19th time in the Ben Jacobson era that the Panthers held an opponent to less than 50 points ... UNI is 18-1 in games they hold the opposition to 50 points or less ... UNI is 25-4 against non-conference opponents in the McLeod Center ... UNI has won 12 straight non-conference home games.
