University of Northern Iowa
29-3
Loyola
19-13
UNI Advances to MVC Title Game With 63-49 Win Over Loyola
3/7/2015 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The No. 11-ranked University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team advanced to its fifth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game in this history of its program with a 63-49 win over Loyola at the Scottrade Center.
UNI (29-3 overall) used a balanced effort from Seth Tuttle (13 points), Marvin Singleton (11 points) and Jeremy Morgan (11 points) to score its second straight double-digit victory at this year's MVC Tournament. Morgan added a career-high four steals against the Ramblers.
UNI shot 51.2 percent from the floor for the game - marking the 13th time this season the Panthers have shot 50 percent for better from the field. UNI drained 56.3 percent of its shots in the second half.
The Panthers led from start to finish and opened up its largest lead of 17 points with 11:42 left in the second half. UNI led Loyola at the half, 32-23.
Loyola (19-13 overall) was led in scoring by Montel James with 14 points. Milton Doyle chipped in with 11 points off the bench.
UNI will play No. 4-seeded Illinois State in Sunday's MVC Championship game at 1 p.m. The game can be seen live on CBS. UNI defeated Illinois State in the 2009 MVC Tournament Championship game in overtime, 60-57.
NOTES: UNI improved to 5-0 as a No. 2 seed at the MVC Tournament ... UNI won MVC Tournament titles in 2004, 2009 and 2010 ... today was the first meeting between UNI and Loyola at the MVC Tournament ... UNI enjoys a 9-2 lead in the all-time series vs. Loyola ... UNI is 18-19 all-time at the MVC Tournament ... UNI has won three straight MVC semifinal matchups (2009, 2010, 2015) ... head coach Ben Jacobson is 9-6 all-time at the MVC Tournament ... UNI is 28-1 when holding the opposition to less than 70 points ... UNI recorded its 14 road/neutral victory this season (tops in the nation) ... Seth Tuttle became the sixth player in UNI history to surpass 1,700 career points (1,704).
