HOT SHOOTING PROPELS UNI TO 72-55 WIN OVER SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

This round up I got from the SID at UNI. The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team shot a season-best 57 percent from the field as the Panthers rolled to a 72-55 win over South Dakota State Sunday afternoon at the McLeod Center.

UNI sophomore guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 16 points to lead the way for the Panthers, while junior guard Ali Farokhmanesh added 14 and junior center Jordan Eglseder had 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Those three players combined to connect on 16-of-24 field goal attempts and were 7-for-9 at the free throw line.

Ahelegbe, Eglseder and Adam Rodenberg each had baskets in the opening moments for the Panthers. After SDSU’s Anthony Cordova scored to get his team within 6-4, UNI broke the game open. Eglseder had a layup, Farokhmanesh nailed a three, and Ahelegbe drained a pull-up jumper in the lane, starting the Panthers on a 17-1 run.

UNI’s defense was stifling during that decisive stretch, as it held the Jackrabbits without a basket for nearly eight minutes – SDSU missed all seven of its field goal attempts and had four turnovers as the Panthers built their lead to 23-5 with 5:47 left in the first half. UNI held at least a 15-point lead the rest of the way to the locker room, with Ahelegbe scoring the final four points of the half as the Panthers extended to a 40-19 advantage at intermission. UNI was 15-for-24 (63 percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including making 3-of-4 from three-point range, while South Dakota State made just 7-of-25 shots (28 percent) and was 2-for-11 from downtown.

Freshman guard Johnny Moran had a layup and a three-pointer early in the second half as UNI extended its advantage to 24 points, 47-23. South Dakota State went on a 12-4 run to get within 51-35, but Farokhmanesh and Moran each buried treys to push the Panthers back up by 22 with 10 minutes left in the game. The Panthers had at least a 20-point cushion most of the rest of the way, cruising to the 72-55 victory.

The 72 points was UNI’s highest total since recording a season-high 81 against Chicago State in an 81-70 victory Nov. 25. The 55 points allowed was the second-fewest scored by a Panthers’ opponent this year, second only to the 49 tallied by North Dakota in a 69-49 UNI victory Dec. 3.

With the win, UNI improved to 6-5 on the season, while South Dakota State fell to 5-8. The Panthers are next in action a week from today (Dec. 28), when they open Missouri Valley Conference play by playing host to Indiana State. Tipoff from the McLeod Center is set for 1:05 pm.