N.Iowa won Missouri Valley Conference title 2009 9Photo: N.Iowa) |
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| University of Northern Iowa 2008-09 |
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UNI defeats Illinois State, 60-57 in overtime, to earn NCAA tournament berth.
The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team punched its ticket to the
2009 NCAA Tournament today with a 60-57 overtime victory over Illinois State.
Kwadzo Ahelegbe (6'2''-G-88) gave UNI the lead for good with a pair of free
throws with 16 seconds left that brought the score to 58-57. After the Panthers
came up with a defensive stop, Ali Farokmanesh connected on a pair of free
throws with 6.8 seconds left to seal the win for UNI (23-10).
Ahelegbe led the Panthers with 17 points, and Farokmanesh finished with 13.
Adam
Koch (6'8''-F-88) finished with six points, six rebounds, four assists and
two blocked shots for the Panthers.
Osiris Eldridge (6'3''-G-88), who was tabbed the tournament MVP, led all
scorers with 21 points, all scored in the second half.
Champ
Oguchi (6'6''-G-86) finished with 14 points and
Emmanuel Holloway (6'2''-G-86) finished with 10 for the Redbirds (24-9).
Ahelegbe sandwiched consecutive threes between a pair of mid-range jumpers to
score 10 straight points and give UNI a 12-6 lead with 14 minutes left in the
first half.
Champ
Oguchi hit a three at 13:45 to cut the Panther lead in half, 12-9. The
Panthers outscored ISU 10-3 over the next six minutes to take a 10-point lead,
22-12 with 7:17 left in the half.
Koch gave UNI its largest lead of the period when he knocked down a jumper at
4:15 to bring the score to 27-15. ISU scored the final four points of the half
to bring the halftime score to 27-19 in favor of the Panthers.
Coming out of the halftime break, Eglseder extended the UNI lead to 10 with a
short jumper. The Redbirds responded with a 9-0 scoring run highlighted by a
fast-break dunk from Eldridge along with a long three that cut UNI's lead to
29-28 with 17 minutes to play.
Ahelegbe drove into the lane and scored to put the Panthers back up by three
with 16:39 remaining. The UNI lead fluctuated between one and three points until
Eldridge drained a long three at 10:19 to tie the score, 37-37.
On the ensuing possession, Farokhmanesh hit a three to return the lead to the
Panthers, but Eldridge struck right back and hit threes on consecutive trips to
give ISU its first lead of the second half, 43-40 with 7:58 on the clock.
Koch hit a pair of free throws to cut the Panther deficit to one, and
Johnny Moran (5'1''-G-90) connected on a pair from the stripe to return the
lead to UNI, 44-43 with 5:52 on the clock.
Eldridge hit his fifth three of the game to put the Redbirds in the lead by a
pair, 46-44, but
Travis
Brown (6'3''-G-87) hit a jumper on UNI's next possession to knot the game at
46-46 with 4:34 left.
Oguchi gave the Redbirds the lead with less than a minute to play, knocking down
a pair of free throws with 53 seconds left.
Lucas
Orear (6'6''-F) answered for UNI with 36 seconds on the clock to tie the
game for the fifth time.
ISU held for the last shot, and Eldridge's three-point attempt came up short to
send the game into overtime.
Eldridge hit a jumper on the first possession of the extra period to give ISU a
quick lead, but Farokhmanesh came off a screen by O'Rear to knock down a three
and give the lead to UNI, 51-50.
Oguchi matched the three for the Redbirds to put ISU in front by a pair, and
Holloway hit a pair of free throws at 3:15 to make it a two-possession game,
55-51.
Farokhmanesh hit his second three in overtime to cut UNI's deficit to one, 55-54
with three minutes to play. Oguchi and O'Rear traded baskets to keep the ISU
lead at one, 57-56 with 53 seconds remaining.
Oguchi missed a layup with 23 seconds left, and Koch grabbed the defensive
rebound. ISU fouled Ahelegbe, and the sophomore made both tries to put UNI in
the lead, 58-56.
UNI knocked the ball loose, and Brown tied up the ball with Lloyd Phillips. The
jump ball favored UNI, giving the Panthers the ball with 6.8 seconds left.
ISU sent Farokhmanesh to the line, and he made both attempts to put the Panthers
in front by three, 60-57.
Eldridge got off the final shot for the Redbirds, but it did not fall, saving
the win for the Panthers.
UNI shot 20-of-46 (43.5 percent) from the floor, including 6-of-19 (31.6
percent) from behind the arc. The Panthers made 14-of-17 (82.4 percent)
free-throw attempts.
ISU finished 19-of-63 (30.2 percent) from the floor, including 10-of-35 (28.6
percent) from long range. The Redbirds were 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the
charity stripe.
Ahelegbe and Koch were each named to the all-tournament team.
The victory puts UNI in to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time since 2004.
The Panthers will find out their seed and opponent on Sunday, March 15.
Courtesy of N.Iowa
MVC All-Tournament MVP:
Osiris Eldridge of Illinois State
MVC All-Tournament Team
Osiris Eldridge of Illinois State
Kwadzo Ahelegbe of UNI
Adam
Koch of UNI
Champ
Oguchi of Illinois State
Booker Woodfox (6'1''-G-86) of Creighton
| All-MVC 1st Team |
Eldridge |
|
Ely |
|
Koch |
|
Wilson |
|
Woodfox |
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All-MVC 1st Team
Osiris Eldridge of Illinois State
Shy
Ely (6'4''-G/F-87) of Evansville
Adam
Koch of UNI
Theron Wilson (6'5''-F-87) of Bradley
Booker Woodfox of Creighton
All-MVC 2nd Team
Kwadzo Ahelegbe of UNI
Jonathan Cox (6'8''-F-85) of Drake
Champ
Oguchi of Illinois State
Pallen Stinnett (6'3''-G-87) of Creighton
Josh
Young (6'1''-G-88) of Drake
All-MVC Honorable Mention
Chris
Cooks (6'4''-F-86) of Missouri State
Jason
Holsinger (5'11''-G-86) of Evansville
Harry
Marshall (6'0''-G-88) of Indiana State
Bryan
Mullins (6'1''-G-87) of Southern Illinois
Jay
Tunnell (6'8''-F/C-87) of Indiana State
MVC All-Newcomer Team
Kevin
Dillard (5'11''-G-89) of Southern Illinois
Ali
Farokhmanesh (6'0''-G-88) of UNI
Clevin Hannah (5'11''-G-87) of Wichita State
Toure
Murry (6'4''-G-89) of Wichita State
Champ
Oguchi of Illinois State
MVC All-Freshman Team
Kevin
Dillard of Southern Illinois
Johnny Moran of UNI
Toure
Murry of Wichita State
Kyle
Weems (6'6''-F-89) of Missouri State
Kaylon Williams (6'4''-G-89) of Evansville
MVC All-Defensive Team
Kwadzo Ahelegbe of UNI
Josh
Dotzler (6'1''-G-85) of Creighton
Osiris Eldridge of Illinois State
Kenny
Lawson (6'9''-C-88) of Creighton
Bryan
Mullins of Southern Illinois
Dinma
Odiakosa (6'8''-F-85) of Illinois State
Theron Wilson of Bradley
MVC All-Bench Team
Justin Bocot (6'3''-G-88) of Southern Illinois
Travis
Brown of UNI
Will
Creekmore (6'9''-C-89) of Missouri State
Lucas
Orear of UNI
Brandon Sampay (6'8''-F-86) of Illinois State
Kenton Walker (6'8''-F) of Creighton
Antoine Young (6'0''-G) of Creighton
All-MVC Most Improved Team
Kwadzo Ahelegbe of UNI
Carlton Fay (6'8''-F-88) of Southern Illinois
Nate
Garner (6'5''-F-87) of Evansville
Emmanuel Holloway of Illinois State
Josh
Parker (6'0''-G) of Drake
Jay
Tunnell of Indiana State
MVC Scholar-Athlete 1st Team
Brent
Heemskerk (6'8''-F-85) of Drake
Jason
Holsinger of Evansville
Adam
Koch of UNI
Bryan
Mullins of Southern Illinois
Josh
Young of Drake
MVC Scholar-Athlete 2nd Team
Jonathan Cox of Drake
Will
Creekmore of Missouri State
Kaleb
Korver (6'4''-G) of Creighton
Sam
Maniscalco (6'0''-G-88) of Bradley
Dinma
Odiakosa of Illinois State
Dustin
Sitzmann (6'0''-G) of Creighton
MVC Player of the Year:
Booker Woodfox of Creighton
MVC Defensive Player of the Year:
Bryan
Mullins of Southern Illinois
MVC Freshman of the Year:
Kevin
Dillard of Southern Illinois
MVC Newcomer of the Year:
Chamberlain Oguchi (6'6''-G-86) of Illinois State
MVC Most Improved Player of the Year:
Kwadzo Ahelegbe of UNI
MVC Sixth Man of the Year:
Lucas
Orear of UNI
MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Jason
Holsinger of Evansville and
Bryan
Mullins of Southern Illinois
MVC Coach of the Year:
Ben
Jacobson of UNI
Jacobson
