Photo courtesy of UNI Athletics Communications
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team clinched the No. 3 seed for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 71-69 victory at Indiana State on Saturday.
UNI (16-14 overall, 10-8 MVC) rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit in the victory. UNI trailed 46-35 with 18:24 left. The Panthers responded with a 13-0 run to take a 48-46 lead with 14:35 left in the game.
Indiana State led 62-58 with 6:54 remaining but UNI put together a 6-0 run to take a 64-62 lead with 5:14 left. The game was knotted at 67-67 when UNI’s Seth Tuttle buried his second 3-pointer of the game with 3:42 left to give the Panthers a 3-point lead.
Indiana State’s Jake Odum hit a jumper in the lane with 47.3 seconds left to trim the UNI lead to one at 70-69. After a Panther miss, UNI’s Nate Buss took a charge with :05 left to give the ball back to UNI. Tuttle was fouled and made the first free throw. He missed the second and the Sycamores raced the ball up the floor with Odum firing a potential game-winner. Odum’s 3-pointer bounced in and out as the buzzer sounded to give UNI the two-point win at 71-69.
Indiana State (21-9 overall, 12-6 MVC) led 12-10, but the Panthers responded with a 14-2 run that was capped by a Matt Bohannon 3-pointer to give UNI a 24-14 lead with 8:56 left in the half. The Panthers led 32-23 with 5:32 left in the half after a 3-pointer from Nate Buss.
However, Indiana State would close the half on a 16-3 run to take a 39-35 lead going into the intermission.
Tuttle led UNI with 23 points. Buss poured in 14 points and 11 rebounds. Buss was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
Indiana State was led by Odum’s 16 points.
UNI will take on Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament on Friday. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. at the Scottrade Center.
