Northern Iowa earns second top-five win of season in ISU takedown
Northern Iowa already figures to be popular pick to make a deep run in March based on what it has accomplished before Christmas.
The Panthers knocked off another top-five team Saturday by surviving some late-game mistakes to get by No. 5 Iowa State 81-79 on a neutral court in Des Moines. The victory comes just under a month from Northern Iowa's takedown of then No. 1 North Carolina. It was also the first loss of the season for the Cyclones.
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Senior guard Wes Washpun led the Panthers with 28 points but he made a mistake in the final minute that almost gave the Cyclones a victory. Northern Iowa was attempting to inbound the ball against full-court pressure from the Cyclones and Washpun lost his balance when the ball came to him along the baseline and he accidentally threw it off teammate Matt Bohannon when trying to hit an Iowa State player.
The error gave Iowa State the ball with 15.3 seconds remaining in the game down by one point, but Georges Niang slipped while attempting a spin move and turned it over.
Washpun then made only one of two free throws, again giving the Cyclones a chance to win, but Monte Morris missed a jumper from the right side and the Panthers added another marquee victory to their ledger.
Paul Jesperson added 21 points for the Panthers who have been deadly when it comes to highly ranked opponents but also wildly inconsistent so far this season. The Panthers have two victories over top-five opponents but also have lost games to the likes of Colorado State, Richmond and New Mexico.
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Iowa State was playing for the first time without senior guard Naz Mitrou-Long who is out for the rest of the season because of lingering pain in his hips following surgery in the offseason. The Cyclones did have junior Deonte Burton for the first time this season. He scored seven points off the bench providing the only scoring from any Iowa State reserve in the game.
The Panthers simply won the game behind the 3-point line, making 13 of 22 attempts. Iowa State had 11 more possessions because of a rebounding advantage and 16 Northern Iowa turnovers, but the Cyclones made only three of 17 3-pointers.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
