Panthers’ Winning Streak Ended By Illinois State
One winning streak ended and another continued at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. Wednesday night (Feb. 1, 2017).
Illinois State defeated the UNI Panthers, 57-51, in a match-up between two of the hottest teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. The league-leading Redbirds (19-4 overall, 11-0 MVC) stayed unbeaten in league play by winning their 12th-straight game. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for UNI.
UNI (10-12 overall, 5-6 MVC) shot 33.3 percent from the floor, while Illinois State (19-4 overall, 11-0 MVC) outrebounded the Panthers, 37-31.
UNI freshman Juwan McCloud made all four of his shots from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point land, and scored 11 points. Senior Jeremy Morgan led the Panthers with 12 points. Klint Carlson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Illinois State got 18 points from Paris Lee and a double-double from Phil Fayne with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Deontae Hawkins added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Redbirds.
UNI scored the final five points of the first half and used a 12-2 run to take a 24-23 lead early in the second half. But the Redbirds responded with a 15-4 spurt and took a 38-28 advantage with 7:40 left to play.
Illinois State would lead by as many as 13 at 48-35 after a three-pointer from Keyshawn Evans with 4:31 remaining. The Panthers refused to give in and cut the margin down to four points at 55-51 with 12.8 seconds left following a Spencer Haldeman triple.
UP NEXT: UNI returns home for a pair of contests at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. The Panthers host Indiana State at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 4) before playing Southern Illinois on Wednesday (Feb. 8).