Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Cold shooting for the Indiana State Sycamores proved to be too much to overcome as Northern Iowa won for the eighth time in their last nine games with a 66-44 victory on their Senior Night at the McLeod Center.
ISU fell to 13-16, 7-10 MVC while the Panthers improved to 18-12, 10-7.
Brenton Scott led the way for the Sycamores with 12 points. But Indiana State never could find a consistent stroke as they hit 15-of-55 shots from the field and were limited to 27.3 percent shooting.
Indiana State won the tip and controlled the first possession where Devonte Brown found Brandon Murphy inside open for a floater for the early 2-0 lead. After UNi countered with four in a row, Murphy continued his scoring string with a charity toss and second chance lay-up at the 16:32 mark to take a 5-4 lead. Khristian Smith answered an earlier Panther trifecta with one of his own with 14:40 on the clock for an 8-7 lead.
UNI took a 15-10 lead but Brown came back with a jumper just inside the arc as the clock ticked under the 10 minute mark to cut the Panther advantage down to three points. Jeremy Morgan answered with a similar jumper for UNI but Brown came right back with another bucket to keep the Sycamores within 17-14. Indiana State allowed just two field goals on UNI's next seven trips down the floor, but the Sycamores battled a nearly seven minute scoring drought and trailed 28-14 late in the first half.
Matt Van Sycoc ended the dry spell with 1:33 on the clock with a pair of charity tosses to trim the deficit to 28-16. Scott drained a 3-pointer as the clock ticked under the one minute mark to draw Indiana State within 30-19. The final four points of the half were scored by Wes Washpun as they took a 34-19 lead into the locker room. Murphy and Scott each scored five points as the Sycamores were limited to 6-of-24 (25 percent) shooting.
The Sycamores scored first in the second half after a pair of empty possessions for the Panthers to cut into their lead 34-21. But quickly UNI scored 11 points in a row over the next 1:32 and took a 45-21 advantage with 16:47 on the clock which forced the Sycamores to take a timeout. Scott drained a 3-pointer out of the timeout to get Indiana State within 21 points.
Niels Bunschoten had a driving baseline lay-up at the 13:51 mark to get the Sycamores within 48-26. Clemons got Indiana State within 20 points on a transition lay-up with 12:47 remaining. Another quick 8-0 run was answered with a Scott jumper in the paint but the Panthers owned a 56-30 edge with 10:40 to go.
Clemons scored on an offensive rebound which was the Sycamores third chance on that possession but UNI still led 60-32 with just eight minutes remaining. Brown connected on his first 3-pointer of the contest at the 6:27 mark to make it 62-35. Bunschoten converted a conventional 3-point play with 2:31 remaining but the Panthers led 66-40.
Wes Washpun scored 16 points while Matt Bohannon tallied 14 for the Panthers.
Indiana State concludes the regular season on Saturday, February 27 when they host Bradley at 2:00 p.m. (ET) inside Hulman Center. It will be Senior Day for Devonte Brown, Khristian Smith and Brandon Burnett.
