UNI Rolls On Senior Night; Beats Indiana State, 66-44

The UNI Panthers locked up their 13th consecutive upper-half finish in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 66-44 senior night win over Indiana State on Wednesday (Feb. 24, 2016).

The Panthers (18-12 overall, 10-7 MVC) sent their three seniors out in style at the McLeod Center. Wes Washpun tallied a game-high 16 points and Matt Bohannon drained four second-half three-pointers en route to a 14-point night. Paul Jesperson knocked in a three-pointer and scored five points.

Indiana State (13-16 overall, 7-10 MVC) was led by Brenton Scott's 12 points off the bench. The Sycamores shot 27.3 percent from the floor and only 4-of-27 from three-point land in the setback.

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UNI used a suffocating defense in the first half to turn a 17-14 lead into a 28-14 advantage with 2:01 left before intermission. Indiana State made one field goal in the final nine minutes of the first half.

The Panthers led 34-19 at the break.

UNI started the second half with an 11-2 run and surged to a 45-21 lead with 16:52 remaining in the game. The Panthers built their advantage to 30 points on two occasions in the second half.

The victory guarantees that UNI will be either the No. 4 or the No. 5 seed in next week's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The event, billed as "Arch Madness" will be held March 3-6 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

UP NEXT: The Panthers travel to Evansville on Saturday to close their regular season. Tip is set for 1 p.m. at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.