SPRINGFIELD – Jeremy Morgan hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 18 points to help Northern Iowa (13-12, 8-6 MVC) hold off late-charging Missouri State, 55-52, here Sunday in a hard-fought Missouri Valley Conference clash.
It was Missouri State’s sixth single-possession loss — by three points or less — this season and fourth in league play.
The Bears (15-12, 6-8 MVC) were led by Dequon Miller and Jarred Dixon with 12 points apiece, while Obediah Church snagged 12 rebounds, and Alize Johnson grabbed 10 to help MSU to a 41-24 rebounding advantage.
The Bears used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to push ahead 28-27 at the break. Dixon, Jordan Martin, Chris Kendrix, and Ryan Kreklow accounted for 18 first-half points off the bench for MSU, which also scored 10 points off 8 UNI turnovers.
Morgan ended the first half with two 3-pointers in the final 38 seconds to bring the Panthers back from a double-figure deficit.
UNI kept that momentum going early in the second half. UNI used a 15-6 run in the opening five minutes of the final stanza to build a 42-34 advantage.
Missouri State chipped away over the next seven minutes, using solid defense to keep the Panthers’ offense in neutral while Kendrix, Miller and Kreklow scored timely buckets. A dunk by Church at the eight-minute mark made it a 47-45 game with the Bears hot on the heels of the Panthers down the stretch.
But MSU went ice cold on the offensive end, going 1-for-12 over the next seven-and-a-half minutes while Morgan and Bennett Koch grinded it out for UNI. The Panther tandem scored all 17 UNI points over a key 13-minute stretch in the second half and pushed the visitors ahead 52-45 at the five-minute mark.
Morgan’s triple with just under 5 minutes to go would be UNI’s last field goal of the afternoon, and UNI missed two of its last five foul shots in crunch time. The Bears battled through UNI’s adversity and got within a possession of the lead in the deciding moments. Dixon scored two clutch buckets down the stretch, and Kendrix snagged a rebound off a missed three by Hunter Rhodes with less than 10 seconds to go and the Bears down 55-52.
On its final trip down the floor, MSU tried to get off a 3-point shot for a chance to tie, but the Bears could not get organized and missed a directive from the bench for a timeout. Kreklow’s desperation 3-point attempt ultimately got off too late ending in a difficult three-point defeat for MSU.
The Bears committed just five turnovers in the second half – and 13 for the game – but shot just 21-of-59 (.356) from the field and 4-of-18 (.222) from long range. Missouri State made 6 of its 9 foul shots and corralled 7 steals in a highly-defensive contest.
MSU’s bench contributed 31 of the team’s 52 points, but the Bears were able to convert just 12 second-chance points from its 13 offensive rebounds on the night.
UNI was 19-for-48 (.396) overall, 10-of-22 (.455) from long range and 7-of-10 (.700) at the stripe with 24 rebounds, 11 turnovers and just 8 bench points.
The Panthers won their eighth MVC game in nine tries and improved to 7-2 all-time at JQH Arena, including six wins by single digits and four by one possession.
The Bears will host Illinois State (21-5, 13-1 MVC) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in a regionally-televised game on FOX Sports Midwest.
