BYU drops UNI for fifth place in Hawaii

BYU scored 15 straight points in the first half and never trailed after that in posting an 84-76 win over Northern Iowa on Friday for fifth place in the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

'We couldn't get any shots to fall in the first half,' UNI guard Matt Bohannon said on the Panther Sports Radio Network postgame show. 'We couldn't get anything going our way.'

Northern Iowa (8-5) finished the Diamond Head Classic with one win and two losses — losing to Hawaii, 68-52, then beating Washington State, 63-59, before losing to BYU.

'It's a good (tournament),' UNI Coach Ben Jacobson said on the KXEL postgame. 'A field like this, it is where you want to be. This one has got a little bit of everything. I'm proud of the guys battling back.'

UNI trailed BYU by 10, 38-28, at halftime.

Paul Jesperson sank a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, 45-44, with 15:04 to play. But then BYU switched to a 2-3 zone defense.

'We showed we were making shots and they couldn't guard us,' Bohannon said. 'But we knew coming in they had that (zone) in their bag. We didn't hit all the shots we needed to.'

The Cougars (9-4) went on an 8-0 run with about eight minutes left, with Chase Fischer hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a layup.

Fisher finished with 26 points to lead all scorers. Senior point guard Kyle Collinsworth had 12 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.

The Cougars hit 50 percent of their shots (28-for-56) and dominated the boards, 41-27.

Bohannon had 21 points for UNI, Jeremy Morgan had 19 points and Wes Washpun added 14 points. Klint Carlson had 12 pounds off the bench.

Northern Iowa returns to Cedar Falls having played seven straight games away form the McLeod Center. The Panthers open Missouri Valley play against Bradley at home on Wednesday.

'We had a lot of things that were positive for our team that we can take forward with us,' Jacobson said. 'We were able to play in tough environments.

'We've got to rebound better, and get a couple more guys playing, and do some things to get points around the basket. That's two or three very important things we have to add to what we're doing.'