University of Northern Iowa
Bradley
UNI Withstands 2nd Half Charge by Bradley, 68-65
2/10/2013 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PEORIA, Ill. - The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team withstood a furious second half charge from the Bradley Braves and hung on for a 68-65 road win at Carver Arena on Sunday.
UNI used a 9-1 lead to take a 13-6 lead with 11:17 left in the first half. The Panthers pushed the margin to 19 points as they strung together a 17-3 spurt to take a 35-16 lead with 1:50 left in the half.
UNI led 37-18 at the break. The Panthers shot 45.2 percent in the first half, while the Braves were limited to 25.9 percent from the floor (7-of-27).
The Panthers (14-11 overall, 7-6 MVC) 19-point halftime lead was trimmed down quickly by Bradley in the second half. The Braves rallied with 14 straight points to start the second half. The Braves (14-11, 6-7 MVC) cut a 37-18 halftime lead to 37-32 with 13:18 left in the game.
UNI's Deon Mitchell then broke through in the scoring column in the second half with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer. Mitchell's five points keyed an 11-2 run by the Panthers. UNI led 48-34 with 10:37 left in the game following a 3-pointer from senior Marc Sonnen.
The Braves stormed back again, this time led by Dyricus Simms-Edwards. Simms-Edwards scored a game-high 32 points, 26 of which came in the second half. Simms-Edwards buried three straight 3-pointers to trim the Panthers' lead to 48-42 with 8:44 left.
Bradley continued to chip away at the Panthers' lead and cut it to two points at 58-56 with 4:46 left when Simms-Edwards hit his fifth 3-pointer of the second half. Bradley cut the lead to two points again with 2:02 left on a free throw from Walt Lemon Jr. Simms-Edwards had a chance to tie with 1:11 left but his shot was blocked by UNI sophomore Seth Tuttle. The Braves rebounded the miss, but Lemon Jr. was whistled for a charge with 1:04 left in the game.
UNI worked the shot clock down and senior guard Anthony James missed a jumper but Tuttle rebounded the miss and was fouled. Tuttle sank both free throws with 34 seconds left for a four-point lead, 65-61.
Simms-Edwards and Lemon Jr. scored two layups in the final 30 seconds sandwiched around a made free throw from James on the Panthers' end. Lemon Jr. fouled out with 15 second left and Jake Koch buried both free throws to put UNI up three, 68-65.
Simms-Edwards last-second 3-pointer was off line and the Panthers escaped with a three-point win, 68-65.
UNI will play host to the Creighton Bluejays on Wednesday in the McLeod Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
NOTES: When the teams met earlier this season, UNI led Bradley 41-14 at half en route to an 84-53 victory in the McLeod Center ... head coach Ben Jacobson improved to 13-4 against Bradley - the most wins against any MVC school he has faced ... UNI has won five of its last seven games in Carver Arena ... UNI has tied its longest win streak of the season with three consecutive victories ... Jake Koch has scored 992 points in his career ... Marc Sonnen moved up to No. 4 on the Panthers' all-time 3-point field goals made list on Sunday ... Sonnen has made 167 career 3-pointers - he moved past Darian DeVries (1995-98), who made 166 3-pointers in his Panther career ... Sonnen is tied for fourth on the Panthers' all-time games played list with 128 ... Jake Koch is tied for sixth on the games played list with 127 ... UNI is 13-1 when it makes more free throws than its opponent ... UNI is 8-0 when it outrebounds the opposition ... UNI is 13-2 when leading at the half ... UNI has made at least one 3-pointer in 418 straight games ... UNI's seniors have combined to start 227 games (Koch - 92; James 76; Sonnen - 47).
