CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – After Northern Iowa scored the game’s first 16 points and led by as many as 26 in the first half, Missouri State rallied to make a game of it in the second half. But the home standing Panthers held off the Bears down the stretch to earn an 85-75 victory at McLeod Center and salvage a split with MSU in the opening series of Missouri Valley Conference play.
Gaige Prim and Isiaih Mosley scored 20 points apiece to lead Missouri State (4-1, 1-1 MVC) with Prim going 8-for-12 from the field and snagging a team-high 9 rebounds. Mosley scored 18 points in the second half and dished out 5 assists. Ja’Monta Black also pitched in 17 points for the Bears behind 5 3-pointers.
UNI was led by Austin Phyfe’s 21 points while Nate Heise pitched in 15 for the Panthers (2-5, 1-1).
“I don’t think you can spot anybody in our league that many points and expect to win, especially on the road,” said MSU head coach Dana Ford. “Obviously, we didn’t come out with any kind of carryover from game one (a 79-59 MSU win Sunday). We tried our best to get our guys to understand (UNI) was going to take it to another level tonight. They’re a championship-level program that doesn’t lose at home very often, let alone by 20 points.”
After a forgettable start to the game saw UNI build a 37-11 lead, Missouri State finally found its footing late in the opening period and outscored the home squad 17-4 over the final seven minutes of the opening half. Black and Prim combined for 13 points on the run to make it a 41-28 game at the midway point.
As he did in Sunday’s 79-59 Missouri State victory, Mosley saved his finest moments for the second half as he came storming out of the locker room with eight points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the final stanza. Prim then joined in the party with back-to-back buckets to make it a 45-40 game with 16:08 to play.
Northern Iowa, which shot 52.5 percent for the game, then put together a 10-1 run over a key three-minute stretch to push its lead to 59-44 at the 12:31 mark.
The Bears never surrendered down the stretch, closing their deficit to single digits five times from there. Prim’s put-back with 1:25 remaining made it a 78-70 game, and moments later Mosley made it 79-72 on a pair of free throws. Inside the final minute, the Bears were down 81-73 and got a second-chance possession after a video review of a tipped ball out of bounds. But Black’s three ball from the left corner rimmed out with 58 seconds to go, and the Panthers corralled the rebound and ultimately won by 10.
Northern Iowa started the game making six of its first seven shots and finished the night 31-of-59 overall. UNI was also 7-of-22 (.318) from 3-point range and 16-of-25 (.640) at the line with a 40-34 rebounding margin.
Missouri State shot a season-low 38.9 percent from the field (21-of-54) and was 8-of-30 (.267) from long range. After getting just two free throw attempts Sunday against the Panthers, the Bears posted a season-high 38 free throw attempts Monday, but left 13 points at the stripe in converting just 65.8 percent from there. The Bears also had just 9 turnovers in the contest.
The Bears return to JQH Arena for two games against Indiana State (3-4, 0-2 MVC) this weekend with a 5 p.m. start on Saturday, followed by a 3 p.m. game against the Sycamores on Sunday. Tickets for both ISU contests are available at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.
