UNI CLAIMS FIRST-EVER VALLEY MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

The University of Northern Iowa claimed a share of its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball regular-season title, as UNI defeated Evansville, 69-62, tonight in the McLeod Center.

The Panthers ended the regular season with a 20-10 overall record, 14-4 in MVC play. UNI tied with Creighton for the league title, but won the tiebreaker with the Bluejays and earned the top seed in next week’s State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Evansville dropped to 17-12 overall, 8-10 in the Valley.

UNI center Jordan Eglseder led the way 20 points and 13 rebounds. The 7-1 junior connected on 6-of-10 shots from the floor and 8-of-10 free throw attempts, while also blocking a season-high four shots. It was Eglseder’s sixth double-double of the year and third in his last four games. He was joined in double-figure scoring by point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe, who had 17 points and four assists. Senior guard Travis Brown added nine points off the bench. Evansville was led by senior guard Shy Ely, who had a game-high 26 points.

The Panthers held an 11-10 lead five minutes into the game, when Eglseder scored back-to-back baskets to extend UNI’s lead to five. Ely scored for Evansville to pull the Aces within 18-14, but UNI then went on a 10-2 run to open a 28-16 lead with 6:41 left in the half. Adam Koch and Ali Farokhmanesh ended the run by draining back-to-back three-pointers, forcing Evansville to take timeout. UNI ended the half on an 8-0 run, getting a tip-in from Lucas O’Rear just before the first-half horn sounded, to take a 36-22 lead into the locker room.

UNI built on its lead in the opening stages of the second half, extending to as much as a 21-point advantage, 50-29, after Brown drained a three from the right wing with 14:07 left in the game. But Evansville then made a run, slowly chipping away at UNI’s lead. Over the next 10 minutes, the Aces outscored the Panthers, 26-8, getting as close as 58-55 with just under four minutes to go.

But that was as close as Evansville would get. Ahelegbe scored four straight points to get UNI’s lead back to seven, and Evansville didn’t get closer than five the rest of the way. The Panthers hit seven free throws in the final minute to seal the 69-62 victory.

UNI’s next game will be at 12:05 pm on Friday, March 6 in the quarterfinals of the State Farm MVC Tournament. The top-seeded Panthers will face with winner of eighth-seeded Drake and ninth-seeded Indiana State, who will play in an opening round game on Thursday, March 5 at 6:05 pm.