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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa—Northern Iowa was on fire from beyond the arc, hitting four more triples than their season average to defeat Morehead State 69-53 in a non-conference game Saturday night at the McLeod Center.
The Panthers (5-3) entered the game shooting 26.8 percent from beyond the arc, but drilled 6-of-9 in the first half and made 10 overall. UNI held MSU to 28.6 percent from long range and also beat the Eagles at their own game, pulling down 21 rebounds to MSU’s 19.
Kenneth Faried scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, and the Eagles actually outshot Northern Iowa 54.1 percent to 53.7 percent from the field. Faried also pulled down nine rebounds to lead MSU.
Morehead State (6-4) had its four-game winning streak snapped and allowed more than 65 points for the first time this season.
Four Panther players tallied double figures, led by Anthony James’ 18 on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long range. Marc Sonnen had 15 points and Johnny Moran scored 12 and had a game-high four assists. Jake Koch scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
The UNI hot hands in the first half gave the Panthers the chance to open a wide margin, scoring 14 points off of nine MSU turnovers. Lamont Austin swished a 3-pointer at the 12:44 mark and Faried scored on a hook in the lane at 9:15. In between the Eagle buckets, UNI scored 10 straight points to open the game up. The Panthers slowly pushed that advantage out as high as 21 before a late bucket by Demonte Harper made the intermission margin 19.
The Eagles tried to rally in the second half, closing to within seven by holding the Panthers to four points for the first eight minutes of the second half. MSU rolled off 14 points in that time, but back-to-back threes by UNI broke the run and spurred a 13-0 Panther run that swung the momentum back to Northern Iowa. The Eagles again closed the gap, this time to within 13, but that was as close as it got the remainder of the way.
The Eagles take a break from games for finals before returning to Ohio Valley Conference play next Sunday, Dec. 19 at Tennessee State. Game time at the Gentry Center is 6 p.m. Eastern
