WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsUNCP drops 79-44 decision to Northern Iowa

UNCP drops 79-44 decision to Northern Iowa

From the University of North Carolina-Pembroke:

CEDAR FALLS, IA - Playing in their second game against a NCAA Division I opponent in just over 17 hours the UNCP men's basketball team fell to Northern Iowa, 79-44, at the McLeod Center on the campus of the Panthers in an exhibition contest on Saturday afternoon.

Senior forward Brandon Thomas scored a game-high 17 points for Pembroke, with freshman George Blakeney adding nine to the Braves' total. Unfortunately for UNCP, no other Braves scored more than three points on the afternoon.

UNI got a team-high 15 points from Jordan Eglseder, with teammates Ali Farokhmanesh and Adam Rodenberg each contributing 10 to the Panthers' total. For the game Northern Iowa's offense shot 57.1 percent from the floor converting 32-of-56 field goals.

UNI led 30-23 at halftime after committing nine turnovers in the opening half. The Panthers’ biggest margin of the half came at 30-21 after Farokhmanesh made a jumper with 1:03 left.

UNI shot 12-of-27 in the first half, while the Braves shot 9-of-25.

An offensive outburst to open the second half sent the Panthers on a 13-1 run that was capped by three-pointers from Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Farokhmanesh. A 16-4 run put UNI up 61-32 with 12:06 left in the game.

UNI opened the second half shooting 13-of-14 from the field and finished 20-of-29. The Panthers’ 69 percent shooting in the second half proved to be the difference against UNCP’s 35.7 field goal percentage for the game. UNI outscored the Braves 49-21 over the final 20 minutes.

Blakeney and Thomas each pulled down five rebounds for UNCP with Thomas chipping in a team-high three steals. Redshirt freshman Jake Koch led the Panthers with five rebounds and he tied Ahelegbe for the team lead with three assists in 21 minutes.

The Braves will finish out their exhibition season next Saturday when UNCP hits the road one more time to take on the Panthers of High Point University, in a contest set to begin at 4 p.m. UNI will be back in action Nov. 13 with the opening game of the regular season, taking on the Denver Pioneers at 8:30 p.m. in Denver, Colo.