University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Missouri State
Weems' 3-Pointer With 2.5 Seconds Left Snaps UNI's Home-Court Win Streak, 58-57
12/29/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Kyle Weems' 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left lifted Missouri State to a 58-57 victory over the University of Northern Iowa Panthers on Wednesday night in the McLeod Center.
Weems' shot completed a 12-5 run for the Bears over the final 3:14, which snapped UNI's 21-game home-court winning streak. Missouri State improved to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while UNI dropped to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Both Weems and UNI senior point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in their careers in the game. Ahelegbe scored a game-high 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 shooting from the foul line.
The Panthers opened the game with stifling defense which netted the home squad a quick 6-0 lead at the first media timeout. It would mark the first of four times in the game that UNI secured a six-point advantage.
Missouri State eventually grabbed its first lead of the game at 20-19 after a 3-pointer from Jermaine Mallett, which was reviewed by the officiating crew and correctly turned into a 3-point shot.
UNI closed the first half on a 9-0 run, ignited by a 3/4 court shot from Johnny Moran that barely beat the first-half buzzer and gave the Panthers a 28-22 cushion at the intermission.
The second half turned into a nip-and-tuck affair as the margin stayed within three points from the 18:28 mark until the 6:07 mark. The Panthers' Ahelegbe scored six straight points for the home squad to give UNI a 50-45 lead with 4:43 left.
Ahelegbe drained a pair of free throws with 3:38 left in the game to give the Panthers their final six-point lead of the game at 52-46. The Bears then scored six straight points of their own to knot the game at 52-52 with 1:40 left following a 3-pointer from Adam Leonard.
Ahelegbe sunk a pair of free throws with 42.2 seconds left to give UNI a two-point lead at 54-52. But MSU's Will Creekmore completed a conventional 3-point play with 29.8 seconds left to give the lead back to the Bears.
Moran then buried his second 3-pointer of the game with 11.7 seconds left to return the favor and give UNI the lead at 57-55. The Bears then chose not to call a timeout and came down the floor and Weems hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left.
The Panthers nearly won the game on the final shot of the game as sophomore guard Anthony James' 3-pointer hit the rim as the buzzer sounded but bounced away.
UNI will travel to Southern Illinois on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip at SIU Arena
NOTES: UNI's Ahelegbe became the 33rd Panther in history to reach the 1,000 point mark ... Moran made a 3-pointer for the 15th straight game ... MSU outrebounded UNI, 38-27 ... MSU secured 14 offensive rebounds ... it marked the second time this season UNI lost a game it led at the half (other time vs. Iowa) ... Mallett led MSU with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
