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Jan. 23, 2007

Final Stats

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Brooks McKowen (Fairbank, Iowa) had a game-high 17 points but it was not enough as the University of Northern Iowa fell, 56-54, to Southern Illinois Tuesday night at SIU Arena.

Travis Brown (Richfield, Minn.) added 12 points for the Panthers, while Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) had 11 points and a team-high 13 rebounds, posting his seventh double-double in his last nine games.  Bryan Mullins led Southern Illinois with 16 points.

The Panthers had a chance to win the game at the end.  After SIU's Tony Young missed a jumper with 15 seconds left, Stout grabbed the rebound and got the ball to McKowen.  The 6-2 senior raced the ball upcourt and found Brown open behind the arc, but his three-pointer hit the front of the rim.  The Panthers had two attempts at a put-back, but Stout's potential basket that would have tied the game came after the final horn sounded.

UNI turned the ball over a season-high 24 times against SIU's pressure defense, and gave up 18 offensive rebounds.  But the Panthers made up for that by shooting 50 percent from the field, including making a sizzling 73 percent (11-for-15) from three-point range, to have a chance to win it at the end.

The Panthers jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game and held a 16-6 lead with seven minutes left in the first half, as the Salukis missed 16 of their first 19 shots from the floor.  SIU then went on an 18-3 run over the next four minutes to go up 24-19.  But the Panthers responded by ending the half on an 8-1 run, taking a 27-25 lead into the locker room.  McKowen and Brown accounted for 21 of UNI's 27 first-half points, making a combined 5-for-5 from three-point range.

UNI extended its lead to as many as five, 37-32, early in the second half after a three pointer from Kwadzo Ahelegbe (Oakdale, Minn.).  But Southern Illinois then went on a 17-5 run to open its largest lead, 49-42, with just over six minutes remaining.  The teams then traded scores over the next minute, but the Panthers made one final push.  Trailing 54-46 with five minutes left, UNI outscored the Salukis 8-2 down the stretch, pulling within two, 56-54, on a McKowen layup with 1:20 left.  Neither team would score again.

With the win, Southern Illinois (16-5, 7-3 MVC) moves into first place in the Missouri Valley Conference by one-half game.  UNI (15-5, 6-3) is tied with Creighton for second.  The Panthers next game is this Saturday (Jan. 27) when they travel to face Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.  Tipoff is 7:05 p.m. from the Knapp Center.