March 8, 2008

Final Stats

ST. LOUIS - University of Northern Iowa senior center Eric Coleman posted his fifth-straight double-double, scoring a game-high 14 points and tying his career-best with 15 rebounds, but it was not enough as Illinois State posted a 56-42 win over the Panthers in the semifinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament this afternoon at Scottrade Center.

Coleman was joined in double-figure scoring by sophomore forward Adam Koch, who had 10 points, while senior point guard Jared Josten contributed five assists and five rebounds.  Illinois State was led by sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge who scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Both teams were ice cold from the field to start the game.  UNI was just 1-for-7 from the field and had seven turnovers in the game's first eight minutes, while Illinois State connected on 2-of-8 from the floor over the same stretch.  Illinois State held a 5-4 lead with 11:49 left, before UNI's Carlton Reed gave the Panthers the lead, 7-5, after connecting on a trey from the left wing.

That's when Illinois State got going.  The Redbirds went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes, with Levi Dyer, Emmanuel Holloway and Eldridge each making three pointers, to open a 19-7 lead with 6:36 left in the first half.  The Redbirds maintained their double-digit lead the rest of the half, entering the locker room with a 33-18 lead.

Illinois State maintained its double-digit advantage for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but UNI slowly chipped away at the Redbirds' lead.  The Panthers pulled within nine, 45-36, after a Coleman layup, but ISU scored four straight to go back up by 13.  But UNI would not quit, as a Travis Brown three pointer keyed six straight points to get the Panthers within 49-42 with less than five minutes to go.  UNI then forced an ISU miss, but Adam Viet's three-pointer from the corner wouldn't go down, and ISU was able to score on its next two possessions to regain control and post the victory.

UNI struggled shooting the ball, connecting on just 32 percent of its shots overall, and was just 5-for-23 (22 percent) from three-point range.  Illinois State shot 46 percent from the floor and was 8-for-16 from behind the arc.  UNI won the battle of rebounding, 32-28.

With the win, Illinois State improves to 24-8 overall, and advances to the championship game tomorrow afternoon where it will face Drake.  UNI falls to 18-14.