Courtesy: UNI Athletics Communications –
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team locked up the No. 3 seed in the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with an 80-72 win over the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday at the McLeod Center.
UNI improved to 18-13 overall and 11-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference. UNI will be the No. 3 seed in the MVC Tournament and will match up on Friday at 8:30 p.m. against the No. 6-seeded Illinois State Redbirds (17-14 overall, 8-10 MVC).
UNI was led by three of its seniors against Illinois State. Anthony James scored 19 points, Marc Sonnen tallied 18 points and Jake Koch added 18 points. Koch and sophomore Seth Tuttle each tallied double-doubles. Koch had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Tuttle tallied 15 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds.
Illinois State led 19-8 with 14:18 left in the first half. UNI took its first lead of the game at 28-26 on a 3-pointer from James with 3:12 left in the first half. UNI would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.
UNI led by as many as 12 points in the second half at 49-37.
UNI enjoyed a 42-26 advantage in rebounding (including a season-high 19 offensive rebounds).
Illinois State’s Tyler Brown scored a game-high 28 points.
