Courtesy: UNI Athletics Communications –
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the 2013 Paradise Jam with a 90-81 victory over the Loyola Marymount Lions on Friday.
The Panthers (2-2 overall) used a torrid shooting first-half to open up a 23-point lead over the Lions. UNI buried 10-of-14 3-pointers in the first half and shot 62.1 percent from the field overall in the first 20 minutes.
UNI used a 15-0 run to open up a 51-28 lead prior to the half. The 15-0 run included a trio of 3-pointers from sophomore Matt Bohannon. Bohannon was one of three Panthers that scored 20 or more against the Lions.
Junior point guard Deon Mitchell led the way with 23 points and five assists. Bohannon knocked in a career-high 22 points (5-of-7 from 3-point land). Junior Seth Tuttle earned his 10th career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
LMU trimmed the UNI lead to 81-76 with 3:00 left in the game but two free throws from Tuttle and back-to-back layups from Mitchell stymied the Lions’ rally.
UNI will take on the winner of the Maryland/Marist contest on Sunday in the semifinals. The semifinal will tip at 6 p.m. (CT) on Sunday. The game will broadcast live on CBS Sports Network with Danny Lee (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehman (analyst) calling the action.
NOTES: UNI has won 23 straight games when scoring 80 or more points … UNI is 28-1 under coach Ben Jacobson when scoring 80 or more points … UNI made 28-of-39 free throws in the win … UNI buried 12 3-pointers in the game with Bohannon draining a team-best five from deep … Tuttle now has five career 20-plus scoring games at UNI … Mitchell has tallied four career 20-plus scoring games … it was the first 20-plus scoring game of Bohannon’s collegiate career.
