University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Creighton
#24 UNI Clinches 1st-Ever MVC Regular Season Outright Championship With 70-52 Win Over Creighton
2/16/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
For more highlights of UNI's 70-52 win over Creighton, log on to UNI Athletics on YouTube.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The No. 24-ranked University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team clinched the program's first-ever Missouri Valley Conference with a 70-52 victory over the Creighton Bluejays in the McLeod Center.
The Panthers drained 13 3-pointers and committed only six turnovers in improving to 23-3 overall and 14-2 in MVC play. The 14 league wins ties a school record, which the Panthers set last season at 14-4. Creighton dropped to 13-14 overall and 8-8 in league play.
The Bluejays jumped out to an early 7-0 lead before a quick timeout from Panther head coach Ben Jacobson at the 18:02 mark of the first half. The Panthers responded with a 9-0 run to take a 9-7 lead following a layup by sophomore guard Johnny Moran with 15:28 remaining in the half. Creighton knotted the score at 9-9 on a jumper from Kenny Lawson Jr.
The Panthers eventually turned the 7-0 deficit into a 28-5 run of their own to claim a 28-12 lead following a 3-pointer from Moran. During the Panthers' run, senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh buried his first four 3-pointers of the game. UNI hit six triples during the 28-5 run.
UNI held Creighton without a basket from the 13:43 mark to the 6:04 mark of the first half. During that stretch, UNI outscored Creighton by the count of 14-3.
The Panthers continued their 3-point assault in the second half by knocking down seven more triples in the final 20 minutes. UNI had six different players make 3-pointers in the contest, including five from Farokhmanesh and three from Moran.
A Jake Koch 3-pointer with 6:18 to go gave the Panthers their biggest lead of the game at 64-42.
Farokhmanesh and Moran tied for team-high honors with 17 points. Creighton was led by Antoine Young's 13 points. Justin Carter chipped in 11 points and Lawson Jr. tossed in 10 points.
UNI will take on the Old Dominion Monarchs this Friday in the McLeod Center in a BracketBusters game that will be shown live on ESPN2HD. Tip is scheduled for 6:02 p.m. on Friday.
