CEDAR FALLS, Iowa ? Ali Farokhmanesh led four Northern Iowa players in double figures with 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 4:40 left in the game to give the Panthers (13-6, 7-1 MVC) their first lead of the game, and UNI rallied for a 66-61 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory Wednesday night at the McLeod Center. UNI's 16seventh consecutive win, coupled with Illinois State's loss at Wichita State, gives the Panthers a two-game lead in the Valley standings over Bradley (11-8, 5-3), the Redbirds and Creighton.
In his first career Valley start, junior guard Dodie Dunson responded with a game-high 20 points, but sophomore guard Sam Maniscalco was Bradley's only other double-digit scorer, contributing 16 points off the bench. Senior forward Theron Wilson, who entered the game leading the Braves in scoring at 14.2 ppg and with the league's longest double-digit scoring streak at 16 games, was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting from the field. The 6-foot-5 forward did snare a team-high eight rebounds and dished out two assists while also recording Bradley's only blocked shot and steal.
In addition to Farokhmanesh's effort, UNI received 13 points from Kwadzo Ahelegbe, as well as 11 points from both forward Adam Koch and guard Johnny Moran. Reserve forward Lucas O'Rear pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Utilizing a new starting lineup that featured Dunson and freshman guard Darian Norris, the Braves scored the game's first 10 points, then took a 13-2 lead on Dunson's second 3-pointer with 12:47 left in the first half. The lead remained between seven and 10 points until Moran drained a 3-pointer 2:41 left in the half to start a 9-2 UNI run, trimming a 26-16 Bradley advantage to 28-25 with 1:03 left. Dunson countered his third triple of the half to give the Braves a 311-25 lead at the break.
During the first 20 minutes, Bradley hit 13-of-26 field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range. But the Braves, who entered the game second in The Valley by averaging 23.4 free throw attempts per game, did not make a trip to the line in the first half. Defensively, the Braves limited UNI to 7-for-21 from the floor and outrebounded the Panthers 17-11.
The tables turned in the second half as UNI hit 12-of-21 (.571) field goal attempts after the break, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, while limiting Bradley to a 10-for-26 (.385) effort and 4-for-13 (.308) from 3-point range. UNI also finished with a 12-point advantage at the free throw line, making 18-for-23 (.783) attempts for the game, compared to Bradley's 6-for-7 effort, and evened the final rebound totals at 29-29.
After scoring the first basket of the second half on a David Collins jump hook, Bradley withstood UNI's first surge by answering a quick 5-0 run by the home team with 10-2 run to build a 43-32 lead with 13:25 left. Dunson started the run with an old-fashioned 3-point play and Maniscalco capped it with a 3-pointer.
After Dunson again gave the Braves a double-digit lead, 50-40, with a 3-pointer with 10:121 left, UNI reserve guard Travis Brown started a 10-0 Panthers run by answering with a trey. O'Rear's tip in with 6:22 left pulled UNI even, 50-50, and after Maniscalco gave the lead back to the Braves by making two free throws, farokhmanesh hit his fourth trey from the top of the key to give the Panthers their first lead of the night, 53-52.
Maniscalco forced another tie by splitting two free throws with 3:55 remaining, but Ahelegbe sank two free throws two possessions later to give UNI the lead for good, 55-53, with 3:03 left. Maniscalco had a chance to create another tie in the final minute, but misfired on a 3-point try with 35 seconds left. Forced to foul, Bradley watched UNI make 7-of-10 free throws the rest of the way to hold off the Braves.
Having completed The Valley's only three-game road swing of the season to finish a stretch of 5-of-7 games on the road, Bradley will return home Saturday night by hosting Indiana State in a 6:05 p.m. tip at Carver Arena. The featured event of Bradley University's Alumni Weekend, Saturday night's game will feature a “Throwback” promotion. The Braves will wear 1985-86 replica jerseys and everyone in attendance will receive a free t-shirt modeled after the special jerseys. In addition, a limited number of upper bowl tickets are available for the 1985-86 price of $4.
