Missouri State Rallies To Defeat Panthers, 59-58

Missouri State used a 6-0 run in the final three minutes to score a 59-58 home-court victory over the UNI Panthers at JQH Arena Wednesday night (Jan. 6, 2016).

The Bears (5-10 overall, 1-2 MVC) trailed by 10 points at 50-40 with 9:17 left in the game. They finished the second-half on a 19-8 run to secure the win.

UNI (9-7 overall, 1-2 MVC) drained 11 three-pointers, but lost for the first time this season when leading at the half. The Panthers owned a 28-26 edge at intermission.

The opening 20 minutes of play featured 11 lead changes and two ties. Missouri State started the game with a 4-0 lead, the Bears' largest of the night.

After UNI built its 10-point, second-half lead on a 3-pointer by Matt Bohannon, Missouri State started to narrow the margin.

The Bears eventually knotted the score at 53-53 with 4:51 remaining on a layup by Obediah Church, who then missed a free throw that would have complete a traditional 3-point play.

UNI responded with a 5-0 run. Wes Washpun scored at the 3:46 mark on a jumper at the shot clock buzzer. Then, Wyatt Lohaus added a triple with 2:59 left to put the Panthers back on top at 58-53.

The rest of the game belonged to Missouri State. The Bears' Chris Kendrix made one of two free throws with 2:40 left and Ryan Kreklow split a pair of free throws with 1:54 remaining to trim the lead to three at 58-55. Kreklow then added two more free throws with 42.4 seconds to cut the deficit to one at 58-57.

On UNI's ensuing possession, Klint Carlson missed a shot with :13 left. Kreklow secured the rebound for Missouri State and passed to Dequon Miller, who drove the length of the floor and made a layup with 6.1 left to give the Bears the lead.

The Panthers had one last chance to avoid the loss, but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity. After Miller's layup, Washpun took the inbounds pass for UNI and drove to the right-hand side of the lane. His shot in the closing seconds, however, hit the rim and bounced away.

Washpun and Bohannon each scored 15 points to lead the Panthers, while Kendrix tallied a game-high 17 points for Missouri State.

UP NEXT: UNI will be back in action this weekend, hosting the Drake Bulldogs. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls.