ISU Sycamores late rally falls short, fall 68-64 to UNI

CEDAR FALLS, IA (2-7-2004) - The Indiana State men’s basketball mounted a late rally, but ultimately fell short to Northern Iowa, dropping a 68-64 decision in front of 3,354 fans at the UNI-Dome. The Sycamores trailed by as many as 18 during the first half, and were behind by 17 at one point during the second half before charging back in the late stages of the game.

Eric Gray’s (Chicago, Ill./Thornwood HS) three free throws with 48 seconds left in the game brought the Sycamores to within four points (62-58). Wilfred Antoine (New Orleans, La./Coffeyville JC) came up with a steal and fed Catrel Green (Aurora, Ill./Feather River CC) who’s layup caromed off the rim with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Four free throws from UNI’s Ben Jacobson and two from Chris Foster down the stretch salted the game away for the Panthers.

ISU (8-12, 4-8 MVC) struggled to find its shooting touch in the first half, finishing the opening stanza 9-of-24 (.375) from the field, while UNI (12-8, 7-5 MVC) went 14-of-24 (.583), including 8-of-12 (.667) from three-point range to give the Panthers a 37-25 halftime lead.

Gray led all scorers with 20 points, while Marcus Howard (Elgin, Ill.) added 14. Green tied his career high with 12 points, and added eight rebounds off the bench. Antoine recorded two assists and tied his career-high with three steals in the loss.

Erik Crawford paced the Panthers with 13 points, while Chris Foster poured in ten points off the bench. Grant Stout recorded nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. UNI enjoyed a 33-29 rebounding advantage over the Sycamores.

Indiana State returns to action on Wednesday (Feb. 11) when the Sycamores host Wichita State. Tip-off is set for 6:05 p.m. CST at Hulman Center. The entire Sycamores' 2003-2004 men's basketball season will be carried live via Internet Audio streaming on USA-365.com. Brian Fritz calls the play-by-play and Jim Waugh provides the color commentary. Wednesday's pregame shows start at 5:40 p.m. and the tip-off is at 6:05 p.m., CST / 7:05 p.m., EST.

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