Panthers win second-straight MVC Tournament

The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team defeated Wichita State University Sunday 67-52 to become Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions for the second consecutive season.

The top-seeded Panthers capitalized off a 23-3 run, spanning more than 12 minutes in the game's second half to propel themselves to the victory over the tournament's No. 2 seed.

Junior guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe contributed nine points during that run and ended the game with a game-high 24 points. Twelve of those points came from the free-throw line as he converted 12 of 14 free throws. Following the performance, Ahelegbe was named the tournament's "Most Outstanding Player."

Last season, Ahelegbe came up big in the MVC championship game at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., as he led the Panthers in scoring with 17 while being named to the All-Tournament team.

"I do love St. Louis," Ahelegbe said.

For the second-straight game, the Panthers' bench came through, scoring 25 points.

Throughout the tournament, five non-starters combined to score 64 points for UNI.
"(That 23-3 run) had more to do with our bench. Our bench stepped up huge for us tonight just like they did the night before," said UNI senior Ali Farokhmanesh.

Redshirt freshman Jake Koch led UNI's bench presence with a 13-point showing that included three of four shooting from three-point range. Before today's game, Koch had converted 11 three pointers the entire season.

"Jake has the confidence to make shots and to make plays. He's doing it all the time in practice," said his older brother, senior Adam Koch. "It was good today to see him play with some confidence and aggressiveness to start making those plays."

Adam Koch, who was recently named the MVC Player of the Year, was held scoreless for the first time since his freshman season.

"I certainly wouldn't have thought we would have won the basketball game, let alone by double figures, if Adam doesn't get on the scoreboard," said UNI head coach Ben Jacobson. "We've had other guys step up and make plays for us offensively, and I just think the depth of our team and the trust that they have in each other ... They're not worried about themselves getting points. They just want to win basketball games."

Senior Jordan Eglseder contributed 10 points in each of UNI's three games at "Arch Madness." His efforts earned him a spot on the MVC All-Tournament team.

It took some time for a majority of the players to get warm shooting-wise as both teams began the opening four minutes of the game shooting a combined one out of 15. From that point, UNI commenced a 12-5 run that eventually evolved into an 11-0 Shocker run. A Demetric Williams three-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first half gave WSU a 31-28 edge going into halftime.

UNI went on to outscore WSU 39-21 in the second half.

The Shockers controlled the boards throughout the game, out-rebounding the Panthers 39-27. The rebound category has been a key to WSU's success as they entered the tournament winning the rebound battle in 25 of its 33 games. However, that number was minimized after UNI outplayed WSU in almost every other statistical category, including turnovers (5-16), assists (9-6), blocks (7-2) and steals (9-0).

En route to the MVC championship, the Panthers took care of Drake University and Bradley University in their quarterfinal and semifinal games. Each game UNI's defense gave up just 40 points, which, in terms of scoring defense, constituted two of their three best performances on that side of the ball.

The Panthers' scoring defense remains the second best in NCAA Division I men's basketball, averaging just more than 54 points allowed per game.

UNI now has more than one week before their next game as they continue play at the NCAA Tournament. Their placement in March Madness will be determined Sunday.