CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team posted its fourth straight win to open the 2014-15 season with a 66-49 victory over the North Florida Ospreys in the McLeod Center.
Senior Seth Tuttle led all scorers with 19 points as he was a perfet 7-of-7 from the field and was 4-of-4 at the foul line. Tuttle was joined in double figures by juniors Paul Jesperson (11 pts.) and Wes Washpun (10 pts.).
UNI (4-0 overall) began the contest on an 18-0 run as UNF (1-3 overall) missed its first eight shots from the field. UNI drained four 3-pointers in the game’s first seven minutes.
UNI led 33-18 at the half. UNF cut into the Panther lead in the second half and trailed 40-33 with 13:19 left in the game following a three-pointer from Aaron Bodager. UNI then locked down defensively and went on a 19-4 run to open the lead back up to 59-37 with 4:13 left in the contest.
UNI will travel to Cancun, Mexico, to play a pair of games in the Cancun Challenge. UNI will play Virginia Tech on Tues., Nov. 25, at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network. UNI will then play either Northwestern or Miami (Ohio) on Wed., Nov. 26 at either either 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.
UNI is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2007-08 season. It marks the fifth time in UNI’s NCAA Division I history that the Panthers have won their first four games of a season. UNI is 20-0 in the McLeod Center in the month of November. Wes Washpun scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game. UNI made a season-high 11 3-pointers.
