Courtesy: UNI Athletics Communications –
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to take the lead in the final minute, but saw Evansville respond with a comeback of its own to defeat the Panthers in the McLeod Center, 62-59.
Evansville’s Colt Ryan scored a game-high 21 points and the Purple Aces moved to 10-6 overall and 3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Evansville led 41-27 in the second half, before UNI rallied to take a 57-55 lead with 53.5 seconds left. But Evansville came back and scored on a offensive putback 3-point play from Louis Jones wiht 27.4 seconds left. Down one, UNI’s Anthony James missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Ryan hit a pair of free throws to put Evansville back up 60-57 with 19 seconds left.
James hit a layup with 14.3 seconds to cut it back to one at 60-59, but Evansville’s Ned Cox hit two free throws with 10.2 left to give the Purple Aces a three-point lead. James’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed long and the Purple Aces scored a 62-59 win in the McLeod Center.
James led UNI with 19 points as he buried seven of his final 10 shots from the field.
UNI (8-8 overall, 1-3 MVC) will play host to the Bradley Braves on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the McLeod Center.
NOTES: Austin Pehl tied a career high with two assists … Seth Tuttle tied a career high with two blocks … UNI drained eight three-pointers, while Evansville made 6-of-12 from beyond the arc … UNI’s bench outscored UE’s, 14-13 … UNI’s Anthony James was honored prior to the game for joining UNI’s 1,000-Point Club … Evansville has won two straight games in the McLeod Center after losing in its previous nine trips to Cedar Falls.
