CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team notched an 84-50 victory over Rider University in the first round of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Tournament.|CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team notched an 84-50 victory over Rider University in the first round of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
As a result of the Panthers’ win, UNI will receive a bye in the second round of the CIT and host a quarterfinal game on Mon., March 21, at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center. UNI’s opponent will not be determined until the second round games are completed on Friday and Saturday.
UNI improved to 20-13 on the year, while Rider dropped to 23-11 on the season.
UNI reached the 20-win plateau for the third straight season, and the eighth time in school history, with the 34-point victory over the visiting Broncs. UNI raced to a 15-0 lead in the first five minutes of the contest and never looked back in front of an announced crowd of 3,318.
“We had a good bounce in our step from the opening tip,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “We gained a lot of energy from the crowd. With it being the first postseason game in the history of the McLeod Center, it was a great crowd and they really helped.”
The Panthers were led in scoring by sophomore guard Anthony James (15), senior guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe (14) and junior guard Johnny Moran (14). The Panthers enjoyed a 35-9 advantage in bench scoring. It was the most bench points scored by the Panthers since tallying 45 in a victory over Coe (Nov. 16).
UNI blistered the nets in the first 20 minutes while draining 10 3-pointers and scoring a season-high 47 first-half points. UNI shot 58.1 percent in the first half and led 47-20 at intermission.
The Panthers added to the lead in the second half and eventually opened up a 39-point advantage at 82-43 in the closing minutes.
Rider was led by Brandon Penn’s game-high 18 points. Penn drained 5-of-11 shots from 3-point land.
