UNI stuns No. 12-ranked Creighton at the buzzer, 65-62

With 4.6 seconds remaining in Saturday's men's basketball game between the No. 13-ranked Creighton University Bluejays and the University of Northern Iowa Panthers, CU senior point guard Antoine Young nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game at 62-62, and it looked as though the Bluejays were going to force overtime. However, UNI junior guard Anthony James had other ideas.

"Antoine Young made a great shot to tie the ball game up," said James. "I just took a quick glance at the clock and saw that we had time to dribble the ball up the court and get a decent shot."

James took the inbounds pass and raced up court. As the final seconds ticked away, James launched a fadeaway 23-foot jumper that split the net. The Panthers won 65-62, snapping the Bluejays' 11-game winning streak.

"The game was very similar to the one we played in Omaha," said CU head coach Greg McDermott. "(UNI) is a team who has been struggling shooting the basketball and we played some percentages and obviously they made us pay for that. … We went to a zone (defense) and it paid dividends for us for a couple possessions, and then the zone ended up costing us in the end."

"I think all of our fans and our team is well aware that (James) can make those kinds of shots. He makes them from a lot of places," said UNI head coach Ben Jacobson. "He stayed on the dribble and got himself in a spot where he was closer to the basket and he felt more comfortable."

James, who missed Tuesday night's game because of an injury and came off the bench Saturday, led the Panthers (16-9, 6-7 MVC) with 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half.

"My shots just started to fall for me in the second half," said James. "I was aggressive in the first half as well and my teammates and the coaches have a lot of confidence in me. The shots just went in (in the second half)."

Joining James in double-digit scoring were freshman center Seth Tuttle and freshman point guard Deon Mitchell. Tuttle scored 13 points and collected a team-high nine rebounds while Mitchell scored 12 points, collected five boards and dished out two assists.

The Bluejays (21-3, 11-2 MVC) were led by Young, who scored a game-high 23 points. Sophomore forward Doug McDermott, who originally committed to UNI out of Ames High School, scored 18 points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds.

"Give (UNI) a lot of credit: they played really well today and they made some tough shots. It was a great atmosphere and we just got to learn from this and move on," said Doug McDermott.

UNI and Creighton battled back-and-forth for the entire 40 minutes of regulation. The game featured six ties and nine lead changes. The largest lead of the game came at the 5:21 mark of the second half when the Panthers took a 51-45 lead on a Chip Rank 3-pointer. Rank's 3-ball helped cap an 11-2 run for the Panthers.

Young put the Panther run to an end with an old-fashioned three-point play, pulling the Bluejays within three points with 3:55 remaining. UNI junior forward Jake Koch only scored six points Saturday afternoon; however, Koch nailed a crucial 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining in regulation to give the Panthers a 58-54 lead.

James hit a 3-ball with just 23 seconds left to put UNI ahead 61-56. However, CU's Jahenns Manigat answered with a 3-pointer of his own to make it 61-59 with 15 seconds left. James would connect on one of two free throws to give UNI a three-point lead before Young tied the game.

Creighton entered Saturday's game as the best shooting team in the nation. The Bluejays had connected on more than 51 percent of their shots, and more than 45 percent on 3-pointers, also tops in the nation. However, on Saturday, CU shot just 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from 3-point range and 24-for-57 (42.1 percent) from the floor.

"We needed some offense from somewhere else. Antoine and Doug were good," said Greg McDermott. "It was just one of those nights. You play (24) games and they're not all going to be perfect."

UNI entered Missouri Valley Conference play with a 10-2 record and looked to be well on their way to another NCAA Tournament berth. However, since the start of conference play, the Panthers are just 6-7. During the 13-game stretch, UNI has struggled shooting the ball with consistency. However, Saturday afternoon, the Panthers connected on 11 of their 21 3-point tries, including the game winner.

The Panthers are hoping Saturday's emotional victory will spark the team for the remainder of the season. UNI returns to action Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they travel to Wichita, Kan., to face the Wichita State Shockers (20-4, 11-2 MVC).

"This game was huge. Everyone knew it was going to be a big crowd and I definitely think it helped with our excitement level," said Koch. "We started out pretty good and I'm still just in awe. It was so much fun. For the arena to be packed like that, it was something special."