Feb. 16, 2008
Final Stats |
Quotes
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Adam Emmenecker had 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead 14th-ranked Drake to a 65-55 win over the University of Northern Iowa Saturday afternoon at the McLeod Center. Drake broke a 48-all tie late, scoring seven straight points, and was able to earn the victory.
Emmencker was joined in double figure scoring by Leonard Houston and Josh Young, who each had 12 points. Jared Josten led UNI with 12 points, while Adam Koch added 10.
UNI's Jordan Eglseder, back in action after missing Wednesday night's game with a sore back, hit a three-pointer from the right wing to give the Panthers an early 8-5 lead. With UNI in front 12-9, Young nailed a deep three-pointer and was fouled, and he converted the four-point play to give Drake a 13-12 advantage. After UNI pulled back in front, 15-13, Drake scored seven straight, culminated by a trey from Jacob Baryenbruch, to give the Bulldogs a 20-15 lead.
UNI answered with a 9-0 run of its own to go back in front, 24-20, with just under five minutes left in the first half. A Houston layup gave Drake a 28-26 lead with just over a minute to go, and Drake got the ball back and looked for the final shot of the half. But the Bulldogs turned the ball over with seven seconds left, and Josten pushed the ball upcourt, launching a 30-foot three-pointer than found the net right before the first-half horn sounded, and UNI went into the locker room with a 29-28 edge.
Drake moved in front, 34-31, early in the second half, but UNI's Travis Brown hit a three from the left corner to pull the Panthers even. Young and Carlton Reed traded threes to keep the game even at 37-all, but Korver and Young each nailed triples to give the Bulldogs a 43-37 lead with 11 minutes left.
Josten and Koch combined to score UNI's next 11 points, with Koch finally pulling the Panthers even, 48-all, with just over seven minutes remaining. But the Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run over the next three minutes that would prove to be the difference. After Drake scored back-to-back baskets to go up 52-48, DU's Klayton Korver hit a three-pointer in transition to extend the Bulldogs lead to 55-48 with four minutes left. The Panthers were unable to get closer than five points the rest of the way, and Drake hit all six of its free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Drake shot just 39 percent from the field for the game, and was 7-for-18 from behind the arc. UNI shot 47 percent from the floor and was 6-for-22 on three-pointers. Drake won the battle of rebounding, 33 to 25, and the Bulldogs were 18-for-19 at the free throw line to just 3-for-5 for the Panthers.
