CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) _ Dequon Miller had 17 points, Alize Johnson had a
double-double and Missouri State held on to defeat Northern Iowa 68-64 in the
Missouri Valley Conference opener Wednesday night after almost squandering a
24-point lead.
The Bears (10-4) had a 19-0 run and raced to a 32-8 lead at the 6:47 mark of
the first half, capped by Ronnie Rousseau III’s 3-pointer, their eighth to that
point. Miller had three, Johnson and Ryan Kreklow two each. The Panthers got the
deficit down to 39-22 at halftime.
But after shooting 32 percent in the first half, Northern Iowa shot 57 in the
second, went 16 of 20 from the foul line and forced 11 early turnovers. The
margin was 22 with 14 minutes left but a 15-2 run cut it to 55-46 with 9:16
left. Eventually a pair of layups by Jeremy Morgan made it a two-point game
twice in the final 20 seconds before two free throws by Kreklow iced it with
three seconds left.
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