CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball squad saw its eight-game home-court winning streak snapped in an 87-81 loss to the Indiana State Sycamores on Saturday night in the McLeod Center.
Indiana State (17-5 overall, 8-2 MVC) had all five starters score in double figures led by Khristian Smith’s 18 points and 13 rebounds.
UNI (11-11 overall, 5-5 MVC) had 21 points from Deon Mitchell and a career-high tying 18 points from Wes Washpun.
The Panthers led by as many as 13 points in the first half at 43-30 with 1:46 left before halftime. UNI went into the intermission with a 45-34 advantage. Washpun added a free throw 21 seconds into the second half to bring the lead to 46-34 in the Panthers’s favor.
Indiana State then went on a 14-0 run to take its first lead of the game on two free throws from Smith with 15:46 left in the game. UNI went 4:04 without a point in the Sycamores’s spurt. A bucket from UNI’s Marvin Singleton knotted the game at 50-50 with 14:57 left in the game. It would prove to be the final tie of the game.
The Sycamores had a 12-point advantage with 1:52 left in the game following another pair of free throws from Smith. But the Panthers would not go away quietly and cut the lead to two at 83-81 with 19.7 seconds left. Indiana State’s Manny Arop knocked in two free throws with 13.6 seconds left to push it back to a two-possession game. Smith picked up two more free throws with 7.4 seconds left for the final six-point margin, 87-81.
UNI will travel to Illinois State on Wednesday for a matchup against the Redbirds. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. at Redbird Arena.
