The University of Northern Iowa mens basketball team had a chance to pick up their first three-game Missouri Valley Conference winning streak since 2011, but fell short of the feat by less than a second Saturday afternoon in Terre Haute, Ind.
After a home win against the Southern Illinois University Salukis, the Panthers suffered a heartbreaking 59-58 loss at the hands of the Indiana State University Sycamores.
The Panthers hosted SIU Wednesday night. Coming off of two home victories in which UNI scored a combined 169 points, defense was the key in the 58-45 victory over SIU.
I thought we did a great job on the defensive end tonight, UNI senior guard Marc Sonnen said. That was something weve been working on is our defense and guarding people off the dribble. I thought we did a great job at that today.
The Panthers jumped out to a 19-10 lead in the first half before taking a six-point lead into halftime, but blew the game open early in the second half with a 12-0 run to give them a 38-22 lead.
Sonnen led the way for UNI with 15 points, all coming off of 3-pointers.
(Sonnen) has put in a lot of time. Were talking a minimum of 500 shots a day for a long time in the offseason. Hes in every day right now. Thats why hes shooting it so well. You can see him playing with confidence. Thats a result of working hard, UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said.
(Confidence) is an important aspect for this team because we bounced back and forth for so long. The guys deserve credit for not letting that part of the season distract them from their preparation, Jacobson added.
Saturday, the Panthers traveled to Indiana hoping to move into a third-place tie in the MVC.
However, ISU used every second on the clock to take down the Panthers for the second time this season. The Sycamores beat the Panthers in Cedar Falls 65-61 on Jan. 26.
UNI, which led by four points at halftime, had as much as a seven-point lead in the second half before ISU went on a 9-1 run to take a three-point lead with just under three minutes to play.
Senior guard Anthony James, who scored the final six points for UNI, hit a jump shot with 3.3 seconds left in the game to give the Panthers a 58-57 lead.
After a timeout, ISU inbounded the ball to Jake Odum, who was forced to throw up a desperation 3-pointer.
Odum missed the shot, but was fouled by UNIs Jake Koch with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.
Odum went on to hit two of his three free throws to give the Sycamores a 59-58 win. Odum finished the game with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
James ended the game with a team-high 15 points, and Koch added 13. The Panthers shot 47 percent from the 3-point line.
With the split, UNI is now 4-5 in MVC play and is still tied for fifth place in the standings.
However, the Panthers are now two games behind the third-place Sycamores, who also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams.
UNI returns to action Tuesday night as they complete their Indiana roadtrip with a game against the University of Evansville Purple Aces in Evansville, Ind.
The Panthers dropped a 62-59 contest to the Aces on Jan. 9 in Cedar Falls and have not won in the state of Indiana since Jan. 24, 2010.
