Feb. 15, 2015 Final Stats
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SPRINGFIELD - Northern Iowa (24-2, 13-1 MVC) rode the back of senior Seth Tuttle, who went 10-for-12 from the floor and scored a game-high 22 points, to lead the No. 13 Panthers past Missouri State, 68-57, here Sunday in Missouri Valley Conference play.
UNI earned its 13th straight victory with a fast start, making 8 of its first 10 shots and storming out to a 16-4 lead in the first five-and-a-half minutes. Ben Jacobson's club built its advantage to 22 points by the 6:07 mark of the opening period when Wyatt Lohaus dropped in the visitors' eighth trey of the half.
The Bears reeled off seven unanswered points from there to get within 35-20, but the Panthers called a timeout and responded with their own 7-0 outburst before halftime to lead 42-20 at the break.
Missouri State (9-17, 3-11) outscored UNI 37-26 in the second half and fired an even 11-for-22 from the field over the final 20 minutes to get as close as 11 down the stretch.
But the game was in hand long before then. With 6:40 remaining, Deon Mitchell's third 3-pointer of the night - and UNI's 12th - gave the Panthers a 64-39 lead.
The Bears did finish strong, closing out the contest on an 18-4 run with Camyn Boone scoring 6 points, Loomis Gerring posting 4 and Shawn Roundtree adding 4 in the closing moments.
Boone finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds, while from Austin Ruder pitched in 13 points and 5 rebounds to help the home side. Roundtree had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench to help the Bears' reserves outscore the Panthers' subs by a 23-19 margin.
UNI also got double-figure scoring efforts from Jeremy Morgan and Mitchell with 11 points apiece with Mitchell also dishing out a game-high 7 assists.
The Panthers fired home 27-of-54 shots (.500) and 12-of-26 (.462) from beyond the arc while converting both free throws they took. UNI also finished with a 28-24 rebounding advantage with the Bears matching them, 14-14, on the glass in the second half.
Northern Iowa finished with just 8 offensive rebounds and 5 second-chance points after collecting 18 offensive caroms in the last meeting between the teams on Jan. 18.
Missouri State finished 20-for-46 (.435) from the field overall and 4-of-10 (.400) from bonus distance with 13 makes in 17 attempts (.765) at the foul line. The Bears had just two second-half turnovers but finished with 10 for the game to match UNI's total for the afternoon.
Despite dropping their 10th game in 11 outings, the Bears had some impressive moments: Ruder had his first multiple 3-pointer game since Jan. 18; injured fourth-year players Dorrian Williams and Christian Kirk were both returned to action; and MSU showed resolve down the stretch allowing the Panthers just three field goals for essentially the final 9 minutes.
MSU will close out its current two-game home stand on Wednesday at 7 p.m., against Indiana State when the Sycamores (13-13, 9-5) come to town for an ESPN3 exclusive game. Tickets are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the MSU Athletics Box Office at JQH Arena during regular box office hours or by phone at (417) 836-7678.
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