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Jan. 15, 2005

Box Score

Cedar Falls, Iowa - Creighton's Nate Funk hit a 19-foot jumper at the buzzer to lift the Bluejays to a 67-66 win over the University of Northern Iowa Saturday night in the UNI-Dome.

After UNI's Chris Foster (Ironton, Mo.) had given the Panthers the lead, 66-65, with seven seconds left on a pair of free throws, Creighton inbounded the ball to guard Johnny Mathies. Mathies raced upcourt, but the ball was knocked free at the top of the circle by the Panthers' John Little (Peoria, Ill.). The ball bounced to Funk, who rose up and nailed his shot as the horn sounded.

UNI (12-4, 3-2 Missouri Valley Conference) was led by junior guard Ben Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) who had 19 points, while backcourt mate Erik Crawford (Oakdale, Minn.) had 18. Both Jacobson and Crawford grabbed seven rebounds in the game. Creighton (11-6, 3-3 MVC) was led by Mathies who had 18 points, while Funk added 17.

The teams entered the locker room tied, 32-32. The Panthers held an 11-point lead, 28-17, with under five minutes to go in the half, but the Bluejays went on a 15-4 run to even the score. CU's Pierce Hibma grabbed a loose ball in the lane and scored as the halftime buzzer sounded.

There were three ties and five lead changes in the game's final two and a half minutes. After Mathies scored to put Creighton up 61-58, Foster nailed a three to even the score with 1:26 left. Dane Watts followed with a basket to give the Bluejays a 63-61 lead, before Jacobson nailed a three from the left wing to give UNI a 64-63 edge. CU's Tyler McKinney scored the final two of his 14 points with 17 seconds left on a driving layup, before Foster was fouled and gave UNI the lead for the final time, 66-65.

UNI shot 49.0 percent (25-51) from the field to Creighton's 48.3 percent (28-58). The Panthers also outrebounded the Bluejays, 34-25, and made 11 free throws to Creighton's five.

UNI hits the road on Tuesday (Jan. 18) for a clash with Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. Tipoff time is set for 7:05 p.m.