The UNI basketball team shot nearly 60 percent from the field as the Panthers earned a 90-77 win over conference rival Bradley in the quarterfinal round of the CollegeInsider.com tournament last night in Cedar Falls. Bradley led by as many as 10 in the first half, but UNI connected on sixty-three percent of their shots in the second half.
“I think it was a case of we had 20 minutes where what we tried to run worked, and when it didn’t work, we made shots anyway,” UNI coach Ben Jacobson. The 90 points that UNI scored is their highest total since the season opener, and Jacobson says that the Panthers were able to adjust to a higher-paced game.
He says with Bradley scoring, they were able to get out in transition more and he liked the offensive pace. UNI committed just four turnovers in what turned into an up-and-down game, something that Jacobson credits to the play of sophomore point guard Deon Mitchell.
Jacobson says Mitchell has had a long stretch where he has been consitently good. The Panthers will be back at the McLeod Center on Saturday night for the semifinal round of the CIT. They’ll host the winner of tonight’s game between Oral Roberts and Weber State.
By Jesse Gavin KCNZ Cedar Falls