CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Northern Iowa big men Grant Stout and Eric Coleman combined for 33 points and 29 rebounds and the Panthers (10-2, 1-0) rode a quick start to a 76-65 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory versus visiting Bradley (9-4, 0-1) Wednesday night in front of 6,511 fans at the McLeod Center.
Stout led four UNI players in double figures with 17 points and added a game-high 15 rebounds, while Coleman followed with 16 points and 14 boards. Guards Travis Brown and Brooks McKowen chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Bradley junior point guard Daniel Ruffin scored a game-high 20 points, becoming the sixth Brave to score at least 20 points in a game this season. Junior guard Jeremy Crouch added 14 points and senior guard Will Franklin added 12.
Led by Stout and Coleman, the Panthers outrebounded the smaller Braves 45-28. Much of the rebounding discrepancy was a result of the rebounds that were available. Bradley shot just 36.5 percent (19-52) from the field and also missed seven free throws (16-23) that were available for rebounds. While Bradley cranked up the defense in the second half, the Panthers hit 17-of-30 (.567) field goal attempts in the first half, building an 18-point advantage before settling for a 42-28 lead at the break.
Bradley came into the game ranked third nationally by averaging 11.3 3-pointers per game, but UNI got treys from Jared Josten, Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Brown in the first 4:53 to highlight a 15-5 outburst to open the game. Bradley pulled to within 15-8 with a Crouch trey, but UNI gradually worked its advantage up to 41-23 with 1:10 left in the half.
After forcing only three UNI turnovers in the first half, Bradley used its perimeter pressue to hound the Panthers into 10 second half miscues. The increased pressure allowed the Braves to climb back into the game, closing to within 59-55 on a Franklin 3-pointer with 6:09 remaining. The Braves were still within striking distance at 63-58 following another Franklin trey with 4:20 left and missed two shots at getting the deficit down to one possession, before UNI began coming up with the necessary plays to pull out the decision.
Coleman scored on a putback with 2:53 to go for a 65-58 lead, then after a Bradley turnover and another missed shot by the Braves, Coleman made two free throws with 2:23 left to push the lead up to nine points, 67-58. Bradley got no closer than six points the rest of the way as the Panthers made 9-of-10 free throw attemps in the final 54 seconds to secure the win in the Valley opener for both teams.
The loss snapped Bradley's three-game Valley road winning streak, which culminated with a 71-49 victory in the final MVC game played in Northern Iowa's UNI-Dome last February. The Braves now will turn their attention to defending their home court at Carver Arena, where Bradley will attempt to extend a 14-game overall winning streak and six-game streak in The Valley Saturday night (7:05 p.m.) against Evansville. The Braves also will host Missouri State Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. before returning to the road.
