Jan. 30, 2008
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -
Senior guard Dom Johnson has a team-high tying 11 first-half points, as Illinois State trails host Northern Iowa by just one, 35-34, at halftime of Wednesday's Missouri Valley Conference tilt at the McLeod Center. Jordan Eglseder leads the Panthers with 11 points.
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). Dinma 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 Brandon Sampay converted a layup on the other end, to pull ISU within one (35-34) heading into the locker room.
Sampay started the game in place of the injured Anthony Slack, marking his first career starting assignment.
