Jan. 30, 2008
Final Stats 
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Senior guard Dom Johnson matched his season-high with 17 points and Dinma Odiakosa added 14 points, but Illinois State's men's basketball team (15-6, 7-3 MVC) dropped its third-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference road decision to host Northern Iowa (13-8, 5-5 MVC) at the McLeod Center Wednesday night. The win secured the regular season split for the Panthers.
Johnson's 17 points led a threesome in double figures for the Redbirds, as Odiakosa and Brandon Sampay (10 points), making his first career start, joined him. UNI was led by Jordan Eglseder, who chipped in 15 points. Eric Coleman contributed a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. ISU's Osiris Eldridge, the Valley leader in scoring, scored just six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
After falling behind 7-2 in the opening minutes, ISU stormed back to take a 10-9 lead at the first media timeout (15:35). Odiakosa scored five of ISU's points in the stretch. Both teams traded baskets for the ensuing 5:00, before UNI forced the Redbirds into their first timeout, trailing 19-18 with 10:27 remaining in the opening stanza.
Neither team led by more than two points for the ensuing seven minutes, before UNI claimed a four-point lead (32-28) with 2:15 remaining in the half after Lucas O'Rear went coast-to-coast on a transition layup. The Redbirds responded with a 4-0 spurt to tie the game at 32-32 after two free throws by Sead Odzic, and a putback in the post by Levi Dyer. After a UNI timeout, Kerwin Durham responded with a three-pointer to give UNI a 35-32 advantage with 47 second remaining, but Sampay converted a layup on the other end, to pull ISU within one (35-34) heading into the locker room.
Illinois State was whistled for six fouls in the opening 4:06 of the second half, with Sampay picking up his first two of the game. The Panthers didn't commit a foul in the stretch, as the score was tied at 38-38 with 15:54 remaining. As a result, UNI was granted at least the one-and-one bonus for the remainder of the game with 13:22 left after Emmanuel Holloway committed his second foul. At the ensuing media timeout, UNI owned a 46-43 lead, its biggest of the half to that point.
UNI claimed its largest lead of six points, 51-45, after Travis Brown hit a three-pointer with 10:40 remaining in the second half to cap off a 5-2 spurt. But ISU tied the score at 51-51just over three minutes later, after Eldridge hit an off-balance jumper from the free throw line, securing just his second field goal, and his first of the stanza. But Brown answered with an ensuing three, and gave the Panthers a 54-51 lead at the third media timeout of the second half (5:59).
ISU outscored the Panthers 6-5 in the ensuing four-minute spurt, and were within one possession, 49-47, with 3:48 remaining. Sampay and Eldridge each had field goals in the stretch. UNI never relinquished the lead, converting nine free throw in the final 3:05 to help secure the win. ISU cut the lead to just two, 63-61, after Boo Richardson scored on a driving layup with 1:08 remaining.
Sampay then stole the ball on the other end, and in attempting to drive in for the potential game-tying transition layup, was stripped of the ball. Coleman then connected with Adam Koch on a full-court pass, which scored on a layup to push the advantage back to four, 65-61. Adam Koch had four free throws down the stretch to secure the eight-point win.
Illinois State continues its two-game road swing Saturday, when the Redbirds travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on host Missouri State. Tip-off from Hammons Student Center is set for 7:05 p.m.
