CEDAR FALLS, Iowa  ? The Missouri Valley Conference season opened up for Indiana State on Sunday at Northern Iowa and the game did not disappoint.  The two squads needed two overtime periods to decide the outcome, but it was the Sycamores (3-9, 1-0 MVC) who pulled out the victory over the Panthers (6-6, 0-1 MVC) in dramatic fashion at the McLeod Center.

The win marked the second straight year in which the Sycamores opened Valley play with a win on the road, after defeating Evansville last year in the league opener for both schools.  It was also the team's first double-overtime win in the last two seasons, after ISU defeated SIU at the Hulman Center 64-62 on Jan. 12.

Indiana State shot 64 percent from the field (16-for-25) and turned the ball over just three times compared to UNI's eight giveaways to take a 41-24 lead at halftime.  UNI led 7-2 early, but the Sycamores answered with a 10-2 run to take a 12-9 lead at the 13:29 mark on a three-pointer by Carl Richard.  ISU steadily increased its lead to 23-13 on a jumper by Jay Tunnell with 8:44 remaining in the first half.

Northern Iowa then scored the next five points to cut the ISU lead to five at 23-18, before a three-pointer by Tunnell put the Sycamores back up by eight at 26-18 with 5:33 remaining in the half.  ISU then rolled off 13 straight points, capped off by a three-pointer by Jordan Printy, to extend its lead to 21 points at 39-20 with 1:07 remaining.  The Panthers then fought back and cut the lead to 17 points after Kwadzo Ahelegbe hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the game to halftime.

The second half was a different story, as the Panthers turned the tide and outscored the Sycamores 41-24 to send the game to overtime.  UNI started the half on a 15-4 run to cut the Indiana State lead to nine points at 45-36 after a jumper by Ali Farokhmanesh with 13:51 on the clock.  The Panthers kept battling back and eventually cut the lead to just two points at 56-54 after a three-pointer by Farokhmanesh with 4:03 remaining in the half. 

The Sycamores answered back with five straight points, four of which were scored by Harry Marshall, to widen the lead back to seven points at 61-54 with 2:09 left in regulation.  UNI answered with an 11-4 run, capped off by a three-pointer with one second left by Travis Brown to tie the game at 65-65 and send the game to the first overtime.

Indiana State took the early lead in the first extra frame on a three-pointer by Tunnell, but Farokhmanesh answered with a bucket to make the score 68-67 with 3:22 remaining.  Two free throws by Aaron Carter put the Sycamores back up by three, before a free throw from Brown cut the lead back to two points at 70-68.  ISU then got two free throws from Rashad Reed to widen the lead to four at 72-68, before a three-pointer by Farokhmanesh cut the lead back to one at 72-71.  Harry Marshall then hit a free throw to give ISU a 73-71 lead with 32 seconds remaining, before Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored on a layup with 19 seconds left to knot the score at 73-73.  Marshall had a good look at the game-winner with two seconds left, but the shot didn't fall and the game went into the second overtime period.

Ahelegbe gave UNI a quick lead on a layup just 20 seconds into the second extra frame and added another layup at the 3:42 mark to put the Panthers up 77-73.  After a free throw from Marshall cut the lead to three, Aaron Carter nailed a three-pointer to tie the score at 77-77.  Ahelegbe then added two more free throws to give UNI a two-point advantage, before Carter hit another three-pointer, was fouled and hit his free throw to convert the four-point play and give ISU an 81-79 lead with just 54 seconds left.

Two free throws from Brown knotted the score for the sixth time in the game, but Marshall was clutch and added two free throws of his own with 17 seconds remaining to put the Sycamores back up 83-81.  After an Ahelegbe miss, Reed connected on two free throws with five seconds left to put ISU up 85-81 with five seconds left.  Ahelegbe then hit a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to cut the lead to one and Marshall was immediately fouled to give ISU the ball back.  After missing the first of two free throws, Marshall intentionally missed the second and a last-second heave by Jordan Eglseder was off the mark to give ISU the hard-fought 85-84 victory over the Panthers.

Marshall led four ISU scorers in double figures with 23 points, including a 9-for-14 effort from the charity stripe, to go along with six assists and four rebounds.  Richard recorded the first double-double of his career, as he tallied 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to help the Sycamores to the win.  Carter finished with 16 points and five rebounds, while Tunnell rounded out the balanced scoring effort with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Sycamores.

Ahelegbe led all scorers with a game-high 28 points and Farokhmanesh added 20 for the Panthers as well thanks to a 4-for-6 effort from three-point range.  Adam Koch chipped in 11 points and Brown added 10 points in the loss for UNI.

The Sycamores return to action on New Year's Eve, when they face off against the Creighton Bluejays in the team's first Valley home game.  Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m. ET on Nellie and John Wooden Court at the Hulman Center.