{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Northern Iowa 73, Virginia Tech 54
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Where: Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, Riviera Maya
Officials: # Peter Juzenas, # James Schipper, # Geoff Vejsicky
Attendance: 650

Northern Iowa 73, Virginia Tech 54: Matt Bohannon scored 13 points to lead four players in double figures as the Panthers overwhelmed the Hokies in the Cancun Challenge Riviera Division semifinals in Mexico.

Seth Tuttle added 11 points and Marvin Singleton and Nate Buss added 10 apiece for Northern Iowa (5-0), which will play Northwestern in Wednesday’s championship game. The experienced Panthers, who brought back all five of their starters from last season, hit six of their first seven 3-pointers in the first half and finished the game with an 18-3 advantage at the free-throw line.

Joey van Zegeren scored a game-high 15 but was the only player to reach double digits for Virginia Tech (2-2). The Hokies, who will face the Miami (Ohio) in Wednesday’s consolation contest, also received nine points from Ahmed Hill and eight from leading scorer Justin Bibbs.

Bibbs' layup gave Virginia Tech the first bucket of the second half, but Northern Iowa responded by scoring 17 of the next 19 points to stretch its lead to 57-35 with just over 13 minutes remaining. The Hokies would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

The Hokies started slow, but were still able to pull within 22-17 on Jalen Hudson’s three-point play with a little more than 11 minutes to play in the half. Northern Iowa, however, turned up the heat from long range to ignite a 12-2 run over the ensuing seven minutes and wound up taking a 40-31 lead into the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: This was the first meeting between the teams. … Virginia Tech is 3-5 all-time against Missouri Valley Conference opponents. … The Hokies were outrebounded for the fourth time in four games as the Panthers had a 27-24 advantage on the glass.

Top Game Performances
 
Northern Iowa   Virginia Tech
Matt Bohannon 13 Scoring Joey Van Zegeren 15
Wes Washpun 5 Assists Devin Wilson 4
Marvin Singleton 9 Rebounds Joey Van Zegeren 6
Seth Tuttle 5 Free Throws Made Ahmed Hill 1
Deon Mitchell 2 Steals Jalen Hudson 1
Seth Tuttle 1 Blocks Satchel Pierce 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Northern Iowa 73 50.0 7-18 18-20 14 25 1 4 9
Virginia Tech 54 47.8 7-18 3-8 13 20 2 2 14