Northern Iowa gets 1st MVC win, holds off Valparaiso, 81-76
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Tywhon Pickford and Austin Phyfe combined to score 43 points and Northern Iowa held off Valparaiso late, 81-76 to earn its first Missouri Valley Conference victory on Saturday night.
Northern Iowa now has won 23 of the 25 meetings between the schools.
The Panthers took a 32-21 lead after a half and Phyfe converted a three-point play and a layup to push the lead to 23 points, 46-23 five minutes into the second period. Northern Iowa maintained a 20-point advantage for the next 10 minutes before the Crusaders finally managed to cut the deficit to single digits on a Micah Bradford jumper with 2:37 left to make it 71-62.
Max Joseph hit a layup and Markus Golder hit a 3 to get the deficit to five points, 74-69, but the Panthers (9-9, 1-5) hit 6 of 8 from the line to seal the win.
Pickford was 6 of 6 shooting from the field, hitting all 4 of his 3-point attempts, and finished with 23 points. Phyfe was 6 of 7 from the floor and 8 for 8 from the line to add 20.
Bakari Evelyn and Golder finished with 19 and 18 points, respectively, to lead Valparaiso (11-8, 2-4).
Game Information
- Referees:
- David Stevens
- Brad Ferrie
- Tim Fitzgerald
2023-24 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Indiana State | 17-3 | - | 32-7 |
Drake | 16-4 | 1 | 28-7 |
Bradley | 13-7 | 4 | 23-12 |
Belmont | 12-8 | 5 | 20-13 |
Northern Iowa | 12-8 | 5 | 19-14 |
Southern Illinois | 11-9 | 6 | 19-13 |
Illinois State | 9-11 | 8 | 15-17 |
Murray State | 9-11 | 8 | 12-20 |
Missouri State | 8-12 | 9 | 17-16 |
Evansville | 6-14 | 11 | 17-18 |
UIC | 4-16 | 13 | 12-21 |
Valparaiso | 3-17 | 14 | 7-25 |