UNI sweeps in-state rivals, defeats Drake 83-68

DES MOINES - Rayvonte Rice hit.

Anthony James hit back - hard.

The back-and-forth scoring duel between Drake's Rice and Northern Iowa's James proved to be a microcosm of Saturday's foul-plagued Missouri Valley Conference game played before a crowd of 5,876 at the Knapp Center.

One stirring run begat another for about 30 minutes, but the Panthers - thanks in part to James' 18 second-half points - delivered the most punch, using runs of 11-0 and 13-2 to pull away for an 83-68 win over the Bulldogs.

“It's a lot of fun,” said James, who missed his career high of 28 by two points and scored nine straight early in the second half. “The crowd was into it. I think it was just a great booster for our entire team.”

Rice scored 27 points - also two points off his career high set Dec. 21 against Central Arkansas.

His five-point spurt gave the Bulldogs a 43-38 edge with 17:25 left, but UNI's spurts helped blow the game open.

“We just didn't have enough to help him, especially in the second half,” said Drake coach Mark Phelps, whose team saw an 11-game home winning streak snapped.

The Panthers (12-4, 2-2 Valley) led 53-51 on James' jumper with 10:44 left and Rice tied it moments later.

That's when James really heated up, scoring the next seven for UNI ,which didn't see its lead dip below four points after that.

“Once they get a lead now they're pretty good,” Phelps said. “Unfortunately we couldn't close the gap.”

Ben Simons scored 11 points and Kurt Alexander added 10 off the bench for the Bulldogs (8-7, 1-3 Valley), who lost their third straight game.

Simons, who averages 15.2 points per game, had eight until sinking a late 3-pointer.

“(He) and Rice can both do what Rice did tonight,” UNI coach Ben Jacobson said. “That's the real challenge.”

The Panthers shot 58 percent from the field in the second half and won their second straight after consecutive league losses.

Jake Koch shined inside for UNI while James and Marc Sonnen were bench-bound with first-half foul trouble.

Koch hit 13 of 14 free throw tries and finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.

“I'd been struggling (at the line) a little bit,” Koch said. “Good to get back on track.”

Reserve forwards Austin Pehl and Chip Rank provided sparks during the Panthers' second-half surge.

The duo combined for nine points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes.

“(Pehl) and Rank, they bring a lot of energy,” Koch said.

None in purple brought it like James, who shot 9-of-15 from the field.

“He was fun to watch,” Koch said.

N. IOWA (12-4)

Tuttle 0-1 0-0 0, Koch 2-6 13-14 18, Moran 4-5 1-2 11, Sonnen 5-7 0-0 11, James 9-15 8-12 26, Mitchell 2-4 4-4 8, Rank 2-3 1-2 5, Morrison 0-2 0-0 0, Martino 0-0 0-0 0, Pehl 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 26-47 27-34 83.

DRAKE (8-7)

Clarke 2-5 1-2 5, Jeffers 3-5 1-2 8, Simons 5-10 0-0 11, Madison 2-5 0-0 5, Rice 8-17 9-12 27, Hawley 1-4 0-0 2, Alexander 2-6 6-6 10, Woods 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 17-22 68.

Halftime_Drake 35-34. 3-Point Goals_N. Iowa 4-8 (Moran 2-3, Sonnen 1-1, Koch 1-3, Rank 0-1), Drake 5-18 (Rice 2-7, Jeffers 1-2, Madison 1-3, Simons 1-4, Hawley 0-1, Alexander 0-1). Fouled Out_Clarke, Jeffers. Rebounds_N. Iowa 34 (Koch 8), Drake 25 (Clarke 11). Assists_N. Iowa 9 (Sonnen 4), Drake 7 (Madison, Simons 2). Total Fouls_N. Iowa 19, Drake 27. A_5,876.