Redbirds fall at UNI; still clinch No. 6 seed

[March 04, 2013]  CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Even though Illinois State lost its regular-season finale 80-72 Saturday night at Northern Iowa, the Redbirds still clinched the No. 6 seed in next week's Missouri Valley Conference tournament, thanks to Southern Illinois' victory at Drake.

ISU (17-14, 8-10 MVC) has avoided the play-in game and will face No. 3 Northern Iowa (18-13, 11-7 MVC) again in the tournament quarterfinals Friday night.

Tyler Brown became the 41st member of Illinois State's 1,000-point club as the senior guard finished with a game-high 28 points against the Panthers. He is also just the third player in program history to reach 1,000 points in his first two seasons as a Redbird. He transferred to ISU from Marshalltown Community College. The only other players to accomplish that feat were Doug Collins and Tarise Bryson.

Johnny Hill also reached double figures, with 14 points, while Brown grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Jackie Carmichael was plagued by foul trouble and limited to five points and six rebounds.

Northern Iowa featured four players in double figures, including Anthony James, who netted a team-best 19 points. Seth Tuttle and Jake Koch each contributed double-doubles in the winning effort. The Redbirds shot 50 percent from the field but were outrebounded 42-26. The Panthers also attempted 15 more free throws than ISU.

The Redbirds jumped out to a 12-3 lead at the 17:25 mark, with five early points from Brown. ISU led by as many as 11 early in the first half. However, Northern Iowa responded with a 10-2 run to pull within 21-18.

The Panthers then tied the game 23-23 with a dunk by Koch, and UNI took its first lead on a James 3-pointer that pushed Northern Iowa ahead 28-26 with 3:13 remaining. The Panthers led by as many as eight with 50 seconds remaining in the opening period, before a free throw by Carmichael trimmed UNI's halftime advantage to 39-32.

Carmichael started the second half by making a layup while being fouled, to pull the Redbirds within 39-34. Later in the period, ISU outscored UNI 7-0 over a five-minute span to make the score 49-44. Illinois State edged within one point of UNI, 66-65, on a pair of free throws by Brown at the 4:17 mark, but ISU could not get closer.

Brown hit a jumper to make the score 71-67 with 2:39 remaining, but the Panthers held ISU to just two more field goals as UNI secured the 80-72 victory.

The Panthers swept the regular-season series from the Redbirds, and Illinois State has still never won at the McLeod Center.

Both teams will meet again in the Valley tournament quarterfinals Friday at 8:35 p.m. in St. Louis. Tickets are available by calling the ticket office at Redbird Arena, 309-438-8000. The game will also be televised on Valley-TV.

[Text from news release received from Illinois State University]