Redbirds Can’t Overcome UNI Second-Half Run, Fall 69-60 in MVC Title Game

[March 09, 2015]  ST. LOUIS – A high shooting performance by Illinois State in the first half against Northern Iowa staked ISU to a 14-point lead over UNI at halftime. However, a reversal of fortunes in the second half saw the Redbirds (21-12, 11-7 MVC) go cold and the Panthers (30-3, 16-2 MVC) score 47 points, as ISU fell by a score of 69-60 to UNI in the championship game of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Sunday at the Scottrade Center.

ISU senior Daishon Knight led the Redbirds with 16 points and six rebounds, and Deontae Hawkins added 14 points, making four three-pointers in the process. Reggie Lynch added nine points, five rebounds and three blocks for the Redbirds and Justin McCloud was 3-for-4 from 3-point range to finish with nine points as well.

The Redbirds came out on fire, making five of their first seven shots of the game, to take a 12-6 lead at the first media time out. Knight continued his strong tournament and scored five of the team’s first 12 points, with Hawkins adding a 3-pointer on the game’s first possession. ISU then went on a 9-0 run, thanks to a pair of three-pointers by McCloud, to take a 21-8 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half over the Panthers, who started the game 3-for-19 from the field.

Northern Iowa made a brief run to cut the ISU lead to 10 at 25-15, but Hawkins nailed his second trey of the game to extend the Redbird lead back to 28-15, and McCloud followed with his third make from behind the arc to make the score 31-15 with 4:03 left in the half. A dunk by Lynch on the ensuing possession pushed the score to 33-15, forcing UNI to call timeout with 2:38 left before halftime.

The Panthers finished the half on a 7-3 run to cut the Redbird lead to 36-22 at halftime. The Redbirds finished the first 20 minutes of play shooting 52 percent (14-for-27) from the field and 50 percent from three-point range (6-for-12), while the Panthers shot just 23 percent (7-for-30) from the field.

UNI came out of the locker room on fire, going on an 12-1 run, capped off on a three-pointer by Matt Bohannon to cut the ISU lead to 37-34. The Redbirds widened that lead back to five points at 39-34, before the Panthers connected on four-consecutive trips down the floor to take the lead for the first time in the game at 41-40 on a steal and layup by MVC Player of the Year Seth Tuttle with 13:33 left in the game.  

A three-pointer on the next possession by Jeremy Morgan, his third of the half, widened the UNI lead to 44-40 and Wes Washpun converted a three-point play to make the score 47-40 with 11:07 left. Illinois State responded with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Hawkins 3-pointer, to knot the score at 47-47 before Nate Buss immediately answered for UNI to take back the lead at 50-47 with 7:52 left on the clock.

The Panthers tacked on five more points in a row to take a 55-47 lead, before the Redbirds fought back and cut the lead to 57-52 after a 3-pointer by DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell with 4:49 left to play. The Panthers extended that lead back to nine points at 61-52 on a pair of free throws by Buss, before Hawkins nailed his fourth trey of the game to cut the UNI lead to six points at 61-55 with 1:49 left in the game.

A 3-pointer by Knight a minute later cut the UNI lead down to five points at 63-58, but that would be as close as the Redbirds would get as shots didn’t fall and UNI converted from the free throw line down the stretch to come away with the victory and earn the MVC tournament title. After the game, Knight and Lynch were named All-MVC Tournament team selections, along with Buss, Tuttle and Fred VanVleet of Wichita State.

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[Michael Williams, Illinois State University]