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Jan. 8, 2008

Final Stats

NORMAL, Ill. - University of Northern Iowa sophomore forward Adam Koch had his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but Illinois State was able to withstand a furious UNI rally to hold on for a 51-46 win on Wednesday night at Redbird Arena.

Koch, who reached double figures in scoring for the third straight game, was joined in double digits by senior guard Jared Josten who had 10 points.  Adam Viet came off the bench to contribute nine points, all in the second half.  Illinois State was led by Osiris Eldridge who had 13 points and nine rebounds.

UNI trailed 36-19 at the half, and was down by as many as 21 points in the second half.  The Panthers were still down by 18 points, 47-29, with just over seven minutes to go in the game when they started their comeback.  A short jumper by Jordan Eglseder began a 15-0 Panthers run over the next five minutes, with Viet scoring seven of his nine points during that stretch.  Illinois State went ice cold, as they missed seven straight shots from the field, as well as six straight free throws, to allow UNI to get back into the game.

After Josten hit two free throws to get the Panthers within one, 47-46, with two minutes left, UNI forced a missed three-pointer from ISU's Boo Richardson and got the rebound.  But Richardson stole the ball from Koch on the ensuing possession, and the Redbirds Levi Dyer made one of two free throws to increase the lead to 48-46 with 46 seconds left.  After Eglseder missed a three-pointer with 12 seconds left, ISU's Dinma Odiakosa made one of two foul shots to increase his team's advantage to three.  Josten hurried down the floor, but his three-pointer that would have tied the game came up short, and Eldridge sealed the win with a pair of foul shots.

ISU shot 53 percent from the field in the first half as it raced to its 17-point halftime advantage, but managed to hit just 27 percent in the second half -- including 0-for-9 on three pointers -- and shot 44 percent for the game.  UNI shot 31 percent from the field for the game.  The Panthers were 14-for-23 from the free throw line, while the Redbirds were 5-for-13.  UNI won the rebounding battle, 38-30.

With the win, Illinois State improves to 12-3 overall, 4-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while UNI falls to 10-5, 2-2.  The Panthers return home to host Bradley this Saturday night (Jan. 12), with tipoff set for 7:05 pm from the McLeod Center.