University of Northern Iowa
28-3
Bradley
9-24
Panthers Roar Past Braves, 71-46
3/6/2015 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team roared into the semifinals of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 71-46 victory over the Bradley Braves at Scottrade Center.
UNI (28-3 overall) used a 28-7 run in the second half to blow open a two-point game. UNI senior Nate Buss scored a season-high 23 points. Senior Deon Mitchell poured in 11 of his 14 points in the second half to key a 44-21 scoring advantage for the Panthers in the final 20 minutes. UNI senior Seth Tuttle added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
UNI opened up a 21-8 lead in the first half. UNI drained four its five first-half three-pointers in a 17-5 run that gave the No. 2 seed a 13-point lead. However, the Braves did not fold and finished the first half on a 10-0 run to cut the Panthers lead to 27-25 at intermission.
Bradley (9-24 overall) scored the first bucket of the second half to complete a 12-0 spurt and knot the score at 27-27.
UNI led 34-32 before executing its 28-7 run to seize control of the quarterfinal contest.
UNI advances ot the semifinals for the eighth time in school history and first time since 2010. It was UNI's first quarterfinal victory since the 2010 MVC Tournament.
The Panthers will take on the winner of the Indiana State-Loyola game in the MVC semifinals on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Scottrade Center.
NOTES: UNI improved to 4-0 all-time as the No. 2 seed in the MVC Tournament ... UNI moved to 3-2 vs. Bradley in MVC Tournament games ... UNI is 17-19 all-time in the MVC Tournament ... UNI head coach Ben Jacobson improved to 8-6 all-time in MVC Tournament games ... UNI held its 24th opponent to 58 points or less ... Bradley was limited to 33.3 percent from the floor - marking the 19th time this season that UNI has held the opposition to less than 40 percent field goal shooting ... UNI shot 52.2 percent from the floor - marking the 12th time this season that UNI has shot 50 percent or better from the field ... UNI has used the same starting lineup (Deon Mitchell, Matt Bohannon, Jeremy Morgan, Marvin Singleton and Seth Tuttle) in all 31 games this season ... the win was UNI's 13th road/neutral victory this season ... UNI made 10 3-pointers - the sixth time this season that UNI has registered a double-figure 3-point shooting game.
