Jan. 14, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
Nedu Onyeuku poured in 14 points for the Illinois State men's basketball team including two timely dunks and Brandon Holtz added 10 points but Northern Iowa's explosive offense was too much for the Redbirds, as the Panthers bested the `Birds, 67-52 on Saturday afternoon at Redbird Arena.
Picking up the win, Northern Iowa moves to 15-3 overall, 5-2 in Valley action, while the Redbirds slip to 6-9 on the year, 1-6 in the Valley.
Northern Iowa jumped out to an early 13-2 lead, courtesy of Eric Coleman's three buckets in the first four-and-a-half minutes and a Ben Jacobson three-pointer. The Redbirds chipped away at the Panther lead, as Onyeuku provided a dunk and two free throws as Illinois State closed the gap to seven, 20-13, after a Neil Plank jumper with 8:14 left to play in the half.
The Panthers pulled away again, going up by 15 with just over two minutes left to play in the opening half, fueled by a 10-2 run. Coleman's dunk and layup highlighted the run, while Northern Iowa point guard Brooks McKowen added a layup off a steal to bring the score to 30-15. A pair of offensive rebounds and an out-of-bounds save by Greg Dilligard gave the `Birds a chance to close the halftime gap, but Dana Ford's missed shot ended the period at 33-18. Illinois State's 18-point first half effort tied the Redbird Arena record for the fewest points scored by a Redbird team in the first half.
Illinois State opened the second half on a 6-0 run, sparked by Onyeuku's dunk on the first possession and a driving layup at the 17:26 mark, to cut the margin to nine, 33-24. Northern Iowa's offensive attack poured in 13 points before Holtz answered with five quick points to make the score 44-31. Despite Holtz's 10 second-half points, the Redbirds never caught the Panthers, as UNI claimed the victory.
Jacobson led all scorers with 15, while Coleman added 13 for the Panthers. Illinois State was led by Onyeuku with 14, as Khalif Ford contributed nine and Greg Dilligard pulled in 10 rebounds.
Illinois State will host Evansville on Monday, January 16 at 7:05 p.m. in Redbird Arena. The game will be televised on the Valley-TV Network, featured on both FSN Midwest and Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
- ### -
