Game 3: Late run helps Northern Iowa beat Indiana State

ST. LOUIS - With its retro jerseys in tow, the Indiana State men's basketball team tried to awaken the echoes of a Larry Bird-esque run through the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

However, the Sycamores fell short as top seed Northern Iowa won 73-69 as it avoided an upset at the hands of the No. 9 seed.

The Panthers (21-10) used a balanced scoring attack as three players reached double figures in scoring. Guard Kwadzo and forward Adam Koch each scored 19 points a piece to lead the team, while guard Ali Farokhmanesh contributed 13 points.

Sophomore forward and Nashville, Ill., native Lucas O'Rear chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds. O'Rear was named the Valley's Sixth Man of the Year on Monday.

Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson, who won the conference's Coach of the Year award, said he was pleased with the team's effort as it met Indiana State's best shot as the teams dueled to a 37-37 deadlock at halftime.

"We did a great job of keeping pace, and that's what we had to do in the first half," Jacobson said. "Indiana State deserves a lot of credit for the way they played. Give them a lot of credit."

After upsetting Drake in Thursday's play-in round, the Sycamores (11-21) hung tough with the conference's co-champions. Indiana State was led in scoring by guard Rashad Reed, who scored 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting.

Senior teammate Jay Tunnell chipped in with 17 points and eight rebounds in his final game with the Sycamores. However, his efforts were not enough to pull out an upset victory against one of the Valley's top teams.

Tunnell said while he sad his career over, he believes the team's returning players have a bright future once basketball season rolls around next season.

"I didn't want to even think about it. It didn't hit me until that final horn went off," Tunnell said. "Then there's emotions that you can't control. I put in a lot of work. I had a lot of hard times for for years. I've met a lot of great people, been involved with a lot of good players and teams, and it's unfortunate that we haven't had the success.

"This team has some pretty high aspirations and some pretty high expectations to live up to next year. I think those guys in there are ready for it. I think we turned some heads today."

Luis C. Medina is on location in St. Louis and can be reached at lcm1986@siu.edu.