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University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
10-816-15; MVC
Southern Illinois
9-914-18; MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 36 | 27 | 63 |
| UNI | 18 | 40 | 58 |
SIU Withstands UNI's 2nd-Half Comeback, 63-58
3/8/2014 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team charged all the way back from a 19-point second-half deficit to pull even with Southern Illinois before the Salukis were able to hang on for a 63-58 MVC Tournament quarterfinal win at the Scottrade Center.
UNI (16-15 overall) was led by junior Seth Tuttle's 15-point, 17-rebound performance. Tuttle also added three assists, four blocks and a steal to his stat line. Junior Nate Buss was the only other Panther to reach double figures in scoring with 10 points.
Southern Illinois (14-18 overall) saw Desmar Jackson go for a game-high 23 points and he added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Jackson scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half. Anthony Beane contribued with 16 points and seven rebounds. Jackson tallied a game-high six steals for the Salukis.
SIU bounced out to a 21-14 lead with 8:38 left in the first half. The Panthers closed to within 21-18 on a jumper from Tuttle with 5:45 left in the half. But UNI would not score the rest of the half and SIU would close the first 20 minutes on a 15-0 run to take a 36-18 lead into the intermission.
UNI scored the first six points of the second half as Tuttle and Wes Washpun added a pair of fast break dunks before SIU head coach Barry Hinson called timeout with 18:07 left in the game.
SIU scored the next seven points to take its largest lead of the game of 19 points at 43-24 with 16:45 remaining. The Panthers used a 14-2 run to cut the lead to seven at 45-38 with 9:02 on the clock.
SIU's Davante Drinkard scored on a putback with 6:18 remaining to give SIU a 52-41 lead. UNI would then hold SIU scoreless until the 2:56 mark.
UNI scored 11 straight points to tie the game at 52-52, with Tuttle closing the run with a pair of free throws with 3:32 on the clock. SIU's Bola Olaniyan scored on a jumper in the paint and added a free throw to put SIU back on top, 55-52. Tuttle and Washpun would miss shots in the lane on the Panthers's next two possessions and SIU's Beane made a pair of free throws to push the margin back to five at 57-52 with 1:51 left.
Buss scored on an offensive putback with 1:19 left and Washpun tallied a layup with 48 seconds left to pull UNI to within 58-56. On the ensuing inbounds play, SIU threw the ball the length of the floor and Jackson was able to save the pass from going out of bounds and found Beane for a layup with 44 seconds left to score a key bucket. The Salukis then closed out the 63-58 win to advance to play Indiana State.
NOTES: UNI has lost four consecutive games at the MVC Tournament (all quarterfinal round games) ... Bradley has also lost four consecutive MVC Tournament games following its loss on Thursday night to Loyola ... Tuttle's 17 rebounds are the most rebounds by individual since the MVC Tournament moved to St. Louis in 1991 ... UNI head coach Ben Jacobson is 7-6 in MVC Tournament play ... UNI is 16-19 all-time in MVC Tournament action ... UNI won the rebounding battle, 45-35 ... UNI turned the ball over 17 times to go with only 10 assists.
