 "Photo: MATT FININ/Northern Iowan")
University of Evansville senior guard Denver Holmes made just two 3-pointers in Wednesday night's men's basketball game against the University of Northern Iowa Panthers. Holmes' two 3-pointers came in the final 18 seconds, the game-winner with just 0.6 seconds remaining, as the Purple Aces stunned the Panthers 63-62 in Evansville, Ind.
The Purple Aces (13-13, 8-8 MVC) led for a majority of the game, building up a 10-point lead at 49-39 with 13:20 remaining in regulation. However, UNI responded with a 13-0 run and took their first lead since the opening minutes, at 52-49 with eight minutes left.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the remainder of the game, with the lead exchanging hands five times.
The Panthers (17-11, 7-9 MVC) led 59-56 with 2:32 left, but the Purple Aces responded with a 4-0 run and took a 60-59 lead with 18 seconds left on Holmes' first 3-pointer of the game.
UNI senior guard Johnny Moran responded with a 3-pointer of his own with 8.6 seconds remaining to give the Panthers the lead back at 62-60. After an Evansville timeout, Holmes banked in a contested 3-pointer from the top of the key to win the game.
Colt Ryan led the Purple aces in scoring with 20 points. Holmes chipped in with 14 to help Evansville complete the season sweep of the Panthers.
Freshman center Seth Tuttle led the Panthers in scoring, contributing 16 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Anthony James and sophomore forward Chip Rank were the only other Panthers to reach double figures. They finished with 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Junior forward Jake Koch led UNI with nine rebounds on the night.
With the loss, UNI now sits in a tie for seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with just two conference games remaining.
The Panthers are 3-8 on the road this season and 1-7 in MVC road games. UNI's last road win outside the state of Iowa came on Nov. 12 against Old Dominion in the season opener.
UNI returns to action Friday at 6 p.m. when they travel to Richmond, Va., to face the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams of the Colonial Athletic Association. Friday's game is part of the ESPN BracketBuster series and will air on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com.
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