University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Indiana
UNI Trumps Indiana at iBN Las Vegas Classic, 67-61
12/22/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team notched a 67-61 win over Indiana in the semifinals of the iBN Las Vegas Classic in the Orleans Arena.
The Panthers (8-3 overall) were led by senior point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe's game-high 24 points. Ahelegbe made 7-of-14 shots from the field and made 8-of-10 from the foul line. UNI's Johnny Mora poured in 15 points, including 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Hoosiers dropped to 9-3 overall and were led in scoring by Christian Watford's 23 points. Derek Elston also popped in 19 points for the Hoosiers.
Indiana led 4-0 before Moran caught fire and buried four straight 3-pointers to lift the Panthers into a tie at 12-12 with 14:39 left in the first half.
Following a 26-26 tie, the Panthers went on a 16-3 run to take command of the game at 42-29 with 1:22 left until the intermission. Included in that spurt for the Panthers were a pair of 3-pointers from Ahelegbe and a pair from Jake Koch.
Indiana trimmed the UNI lead to 44-40 just over a minute into the second half. But the Panthers were able to push the advantage back to 10 at 51-41 with 14:41 left in the game. A tip in dunk by Koch on a fastbreak gave UNI its final double-digit lead of the night at 53-43 with 13:24 remaining.
The Hoosiers then crept back into the contest and were able to knot the game at 59-59 with 2:35 left on a layup from Watford.
The Panthers came right back down the floor and Lucas O'Rear found Moran open under the hoop for a backdoor lay-in that put UNI on top for good with 2:05 left in the game. A missed jumper by Maurice Creek allowed UNI the opportunity to push it to a two-possession game and O'Rear seized the chance by scoring near the bucket to give UNI a 63-59 lead.
Indiana pulled to within three points at 64-61 following a pair of free throws by Watford with 33.4 seconds left. But the Panthers' Ahelegbe swished through a pair of free throws and Marc Sonnen hit another for the final six-point margin, 67-61.
UNI will take on New Mexico at 7 p.m. (Pacific) on Thursday. The championship game will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports. New Mexico defeated Colorado, 89-76.
NOTES: Ahelegbe has scored 980 career points and moved into 34th place on the Panthers' all-time scoring list ... Moran ran his streak of consecutive made 3-pointers to 13 in a row ... UNI drained eight first-half 3-pointers ... UNI has won five straight games played in Las Vegas.
