CEDAR FALLS, Iowa  – For the second game on this Iowa road swing, the Sycamores battled tough but came up just short in the end falling to Northern Iowa, 68-60 in front of 3,697 fans inside the McLeod Center.
 
Indiana State fell to 8-6, 1-2 MVC while UNI improved to 13-2, 2-1 MVC. The Panthers remained unbeaten at home this season.
 
Tyreke Key paced the Sycamores with 14 points while Jake LaRavia posted 12. Christian Williams came off the bench to score 10. LaRavia paced the Sycamores with six rebounds while the Panthers won the battle of the boards 33-20. Both teams shot well with UNI holding a slim 51.0 to 47.9 percent edge.
 
Trailing by six points and the shot clock winding down, Christian Williams buried a corner 3-pointer to trim the deficit down to three points but AJ Green countered with a conventional 3-point play and UNI led 57-51 with six minutes remaining. ISU would come up empty, but Key stepped in a took a charge to get the ball back. Christian Williams drove the lane himself and scored inside as the Panther lead shrunk further to 57-53. After the Panthers hit a free throw, LaRavia drove the baseline and hit a tough jumper to whittle the UNI advantage down to 58-55 with just over four minutes to go.
 
As the clock ticked down to the 3:30 mark, Bronson Kessinger rose high and tipped the ball around to Key who went into traffic and rattled a floater home to get the Sycamores within 58-57. Austin Phyfe put in a second chance opportunity to run the Panther lead back out to three points and LaRavia hit 1-of-2 free throws with 2:32 remaining as the Panthers lead was 60-58. Trae Berhow converted a lay-up with one second remaining on the shot clock to run their advantage out to 62-58. ISU came up empty and had to foul where Berhow hit a pair to run their lead out to 64-58 with 22.2 seconds to go.
 
A lay-up inside from Jake LaRavia cut the Panther lead down to just five points and after a big defensive stop, Tre Williams went to the charity stripe where he went 1-of-2 with 16:55 on the clock to whittle the Panthers seven-point halftime lead down to just 32-28. Christian Williams then grabbed a steal at halfcourt and went the length of the floor for the dunk to cut the UNI advantage down to just two points. Trae Berhow answered for the Panthers with a 3-pointer near the end of the shot clock to extend their lead out to five points but LaRavia was able to score inside to cut their advantage down to just three points. Then a steal and run out from Key with 14:30 remaining further sliced into the Panther lead at 35-34.
 
Christian Williams grabbed a steal at a key time as the clock ticked under the 14 minute mark, but ISU turned the ball back over on the fast break and the UNI counter resulted in an easy lay-up to run their cushion back up to 37-34. That began a 6-0 run which rebuilt the seven-point lead until Kessinger scored inside at the 12:47 mark to get the Sycamores within 41-36.
 
Freshman Cobie Barnes drilled a huge 3-pointer with just over 11 minutes remaining to make it 42-39 as the Sycamores continued to battle back into the contest. After UNI scored inside, Tyreke Key hit a corner 3-pointer as the clock went under the 10 minute mark and the Panther advantage was just 44-42. UNI would take a six-point lead again, but Tre Williams converted a hook out shot in the lane at the 7:50 mark to cut the deficit to just 50-46. UNI once again ran their lead out to six points before Key drove the lane line and scored easily to make it 52-48 with 7:07 remaining.
 
Each team scored of two of their first four possessions, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key near the end of the shot clock with just over 16 minutes to go which staked the Sycamores to a 5-4 lead. Bronson Kessinger stepped out with 14:10 on the clock to drain his first triple of the season and push the Sycamore lead out to 8-6. The Panthers regained the advantage with seven in a row until Christian Williams drilled a trifecta with just under 10 minutes to go. Jordan Barnes got the Sycamores the lead back with the Sycamores fourth 3-pointer of the half as the clock ticked past nine minutes to go for the 14-13 lead.
 
But Northern Iowa came back with another 7-0 run as they raced ahead 20-14. Barnes drove into the lane with 5:55 remaining for a nifty bucket before AJ Green countered with a jumper of his own and the Panthers led 22-16. After a Barnes nifty move in the paint cut the deficit down to four points, UNI scored five in a row to take a 27-18 advantage. Jake LaRavia ended the drought with a turnaround jumper in traffic to cut the lead down to seven but once again the Panthers came back with a quick answer to extend their lead out to 29-20 with just under three minutes before halftime.
 
Tre Williams rolled a lay-up home inside the final minute and after a Sycamore steal had the chance to do it again but that shot came up short as the Sycamores trailed the Panthers 31-24 at the break. Jake LaRavia led the way for ISU with the opening 20 minutes with six points.
 
UNI was led by Trae Burhow who scored 16 points.
 
Indiana State returns home on Saturday, January 11 as they host Illinois State at 2:00 p.m. (ET). The Redbirds visit for the annual Hall of Fame Game featuring the 28^th class consisting of Felisha Johnson, Jim Waugh, Boi Rodriguez, Clint Barmes and Harlen Lautenschlager. The Sycamores will also be hosting Paws For A Cause to benefit the Terre Haute Humane Society. Partnering with the Mix FM, WTWO TV and Hi 99, the Sycamores will be accepting donations of supplies and money for the Humane Society and those that donate will be given a voucher for a free ticket to any Sycamore home game in the month of February.