Panthers win eighth straight game in rout
CEDAR FALLS (UNI) — The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team continued its winning ways Wednesday night with a 72-54 victory over Wyoming in the McLeod Center. The victory pushed the Panthers’ win streak to eight in a row.
The win also gave the Missouri Valley Conference a 5-4 triumph over the Mountain West Conference in a challenge between the two leagues.
Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer said UNI is a top-notch squad.
“They are a top-25 team,” Schroyer said in the post-game press conference. “They got the pieces you need — two post players, a point guard to run it and some wings to shoot the ball.”
UNI (9-1) used a 28-point effort from senior Jordan Eglseder and 15 second-half points from senior Ali Farokhmanesh to turn a 34-33 halftime lead into the 18-point victory margin. Wyoming fell to 6-6 on the season.
The Panthers started strong with a 7-0 burst out of the gates, but Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run as the Cowboys hit the home squad with full-court pressure. Wyoming continued its stifling defense and eventually built a 27-18 lead after a jumper by J.J. Davis at the 7:24 mark of the first half.
But the Panthers turned it up a notch and poured in a 11 straight to take a 29-27 lead with 3:53 remaining before intermission.
The final bucket of the run came on a 3-point basket from Kerwin Dunham on an assist from Kwadzo Ahelegbe. The squads then played a nip-and-tuck
affair until halftime as the Panthers took a 34-33 lead after 20 minutes of action.
UNI would not trail in the second half and kept Wyoming at bay as the Panthers opened an eight-point lead on a pair of free throws from Eglseder at the 14:23 mark. Wyoming would trim the margin to four at 48-44 on a jumper from Afam Muojeke.
From that point, the Panthers locked down the defensive side of the ball and Farokhmanesh made a pair of triples to up the lead to 10 at 58-48 with 7:48 to go.
The Panthers would eventually push the lead to 18 on a final 3-pointer from Farokhmanesh with 2:04 remaining in the game.
UNI held Wyoming to 21 points in the second half and 54 in the game. The Cowboys came into the game averaging 78.8 points per game.
UNI will begin Missouri Valley Conference play Dec. 29 at Creighton.
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