Northern Iowa rallies to nip Bears by a point

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri Valley Conference basketball clashes rarely play out like symphonies. And when Northern Iowa and Missouri State meet, a mosh pit appears in order.

But Saturday's clutch moments were classic call-and-response, and UNI's Adam Koch hit the final, emphatic, high note to secure the Panthers' intense, 55-54 triumph over the Bears.

“This forty-minute game (came) down to one stop,” said UNI Coach Ben Jacobson. “And we were fortunate.”

Kerwin Dunham's breakaway layup with 40 seconds left gave UNI its 55-54 lead. Then after a shot from Missouri State star Adam Leonard hit the side of the backboard with barely three seconds left, Koch corralled it and heaved it to the other end of the court.

As a result, the clock ran out and the first-place Panthers (19-2, 10-1 MVC) ran out of town with another wild win.

“It's fun looking back on it - now,” Koch joked of the back-and-forth finish. “At the time I wasn't enjoying it.”

The Panthers found their stride just in time, outscoring Missouri State (15-7, 5-6 MVC) 5-0 in the final 1 minute, 23 seconds.

The Panthers got 14 points from Jordan Eglseder, 10 from Koch and nine from Marc Sonnen.

An ugly play with 83 seconds to go helped UNI. At that juncture, UNI guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe was cut down hard by Missouri State center Will Creekmore while in midair on a layup attempt. Creekmore was whistled for an intentional foul, and, while Ahelegbe shook off the hard hit, UNI plugged Ali Farokhmanesh in to shoot the two free throws.

Farokhmanesh is an 86.7 percent free-throw shooter. Ahelegbe shoots 67.8 percent from the line. Although Farokhmanesh made just one of the two free throws, UNI also was awarded possession of the ball and got a short bank-shot from Adam Koch to close to within 54-53.

After Dunham's basket sealed UNI's win, Missouri State Coach Cuonzo Martin was still fairly steamed about how officials handled Creekmore's foul with 1:23 to go. Martin felt he should have been able to choose which player was sent to the free-throw line, after Ahelegbe was injured.

However, according to a new NCAA rule, the coach of an injured, fouled player gets to choose his shooter among the four other players on the court.

By Kelly Beaton, Waterloo Courier