Road woes return for UNI at Indiana State

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Through 20 minutes Wednesday night, it looked like the Northern Iowa men's basketball team had found the cure to its road woes against Indiana State. Efficient offense and consistent defense had the Panthers up seven at the break in the Hulman Center.

But whatever worked in the first half seemed to reverse itself in the second, as UNI stumbled to its lowest point total in any half all season with 23, gave up 44 second-half points to the Sycamores, and left Terre Haute, Ind. with a third straight road loss, 74-60.

Frustration with being unable to carry what's worked at home onto the road — again — was evident. The solution isn't.

'(Attention to detail) is required every possession on the road. We haven't found that level of consistency yet,' said Coach Ben Jacobson. 'If people hadn't watched us play on the road and sat down and watched us play that first half, they'd think, 'Wow, these guys' attention to detail is great, determination is good; they're locked in,' right? It isn't that they're not bought into it. They're fully bought in. It's a matter of being able to do it over the course of 40 minutes.

'Had we been able to punch back and tie it when they were up five or six, those periods in the game, right now, we haven't done a good job with that. Those things, we've got to find a way to do better.'

UNI (10-8, 2-3 Missouri Valley Conference) got the second half started with a dunk from Bennett Koch, who finished with 18 points (tying a career-high, set earlier this season) — 12 of which came in a strong first half for the sophomore.

But after that, finding offense was a struggle. While the Panthers slogged to 7 of 26 shooting overall and 2 of 11 from deep in the second frame, their Sycamore counterparts went 13 of 26 overall and 9 of 16 from 3-point range. An 18-3 run in the middle part of the second half put the game far out of reach and gave Indiana State (10-7, 4-1) its seventh win out of its last eight.

Neither Jacobson nor his players felt like anything changed scheme-wise, there was just more pressure on the UNI guards, and less ability to effectively handle that pressure.

'I'm not sure if they changed anything up or not. I didn't feel like they did,' said Wes Washpun, who finished with 16 points. 'I'm not sure (what made it a struggle). There were things that weren't going our way, and we have to be able to fight through things like that with a little bit of adversity throughout the game.'

After losing a pair on the road, then returning to McLeod Center for a win against Drake, both Paul Jesperson and Matt Bohannon talked about a change in the way the seniors led their teammates — both in words and actions.

The refrain was the same after the loss Wednesday night, only the context had changed. Bohannon echoed leadership and toughness, something he focused on after the Missouri State loss.

'We never answered their rally, and when things are going like that on the road, you've got to step up and be tougher and make some plays. We just weren't able to do that,' Bohannon said. 'We've got to be even better leaders. We stepped up at home the other night, me, Paul and Wes, and some of the other guys, we've got to step up even more.

'Every game is important. It's going to take a big time effort every night now. Even going into every game, it's got to be each possession. Each time you get a chance to do something on the court, it's got to get done.'

The only clear answer from Jacobson and his players for what it will take to put it together on the road is time.

Time in conference opponents' gyms, time looking at the film from those situations that led to losses, and time working through the frustration and disappointment in practice — all of it collectively will be what provides the solution, they said.

'You've got to go through it and you've got to knock that door down. You've got to bust through that wall,' Jacobson said. 'Whatever phrase you'd like to use, at some point you've got to break through and you've got to get the job done. We're certainly at that point right now, because the guys are bought in. They know what needs to get done.

'We know how we want to play. Now it's a matter of knocking that door down and finding a way to get one done on the road.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com