The UNI men are the top seed in this week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. The Panthers closed the season with a thrilling 102-96 overtime victory over Loyola to earn their second regular season Valley title in three years.

The Panthers overcame a slow start to the season that saw them open with a 4-7 record.

The Panthers play Friday at Noon against the winner of Thursday’s game between Illinois State and Indiana State. After finishing in a three-way tie for second Drake is seeded third and will open Friday night against Southern Illinois

DES MOINES, IOWA – Megan Meyer, Grace Berg and Maggie Bair made sure their seniors went out on a winning note.

The three juniors combined for 50 points and helped the Drake University women’s basketball team rally for a 77-71 Senior Day victory over Bradley at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon.

Bradley jumped to a 14-point lead in the first half behind a flurry of 3-point baskets before the Bulldogs shut down the Braves over the final two quarters to win for the third straight time and keep alive the possibility of a .500 finish in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Drake improved to 15-12 overall and 7-9 in the league with two games remaining, both on the road. Bradley, losing at the Knapp Center for the 12^th time in the last 13 visits, fell to 4-22 and 1-16 despite big games from freshman Caroline Waite and senior Tatum Koenig.

Seniors Maddie Petersen, Hannah Fuller and Allie Woolridge were honored in a postgame ceremony, the Bulldogs’ strong second half making it a much happier occasion. They outscored the Braves 45-27 over the final two quarters and held them to 23.3 percent shooting (7-for-30).

The Bulldogs wrap up the regular with games at Evansville next Thursday, March 3, and at Indiana State two days later.

A cold shooting start and some frantic defense sunk the AHSTW Vikings in the Class 1A Substate 8 Final on Saturday night. West Harrison came out on top 59-55 at Thomas Jefferson High School to advance to their first ever State Tournament.

The Hawkeyes took control of the lead midway through the first quarter and ended the period on an 8-1 run to lead 15-7. West Harrison knocked down 3 three-pointers in the second and pushed the lead up to 31-16 by half. The Vikings started to find some offensive stride in the third but the Hawkeyes did enough to keep pace and held a 12 point lead heading to the fourth. AHSTW was able to get the lead down to single digits in the fourth but some timely shots and free throws preserved the Hawkeyes’ win.  One of the big moments late came after AHSTW had cut the lead to 39-47 to get to a single digit deficit for the first time. Brady Melby then hit a three on the other end to take a little wind out of the Vikings’ sails.

West Harrison got 13 points from Koleson Evans, 12 from Mason McIntosh, and 11 from Mason King. The Hawkeyes improved to 22-3 on the season and punched their first ever ticket to the State Tournament. The only time part of the school district advanced to state was Moorhead’s appearances in 1949 and 1960.

AHSTW was led by 16 points from Raydden Grobe and 11 each from Kyle Sternberg and Brayden Lund. The Vikings end a terrific season with a record of 23-2. The Vikings fall shy of their first State trip and will say farewell to two seniors in Raydden Grobe and Jace Peterson.

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CLASS 1A

Substate 7 @ Dowling Catholic: Grand View Christian 81, St. Albert 54
Substate 8 @ CB Thomas Jefferson: AWest Harrison 59, AHSTW 55 – ON KJAN

CLASS 2A

Substate 8 @ AC/GC: Red Oak 59, Van Meter 57

Iowa State held off a late charge from Kansas State for a 74-73 win in Manhattan on Saturday. The Cyclones let a big lead dwindle to two in the waning moments by not handling the Wildcats press. Jaden Walker came up with a huge steal with 4 seconds left and Jaz Kunc hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to put ISU up 4. Nijel Pack hit a halfcourt buzzer beater to provide the final one point margin.

Caleb Grill hit six threes and finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Izaiah Brockington had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Tyrese Hunter was big as well with 13 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds.

Iowa State improved to 20-9 on the season and 7-9 in the Big 12. Nijel Pack finished with 32 points to led the Wildcats and they fall to 14-14 on the season.

Next up for Iowa State is a home game against Oklahoma State on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m.

The Iowa State women’s basketball team outscored Texas Tech 22-10 in the third quarter and grabbed a 71-55 win on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

Ashley Joens poured in 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Cyclone victory. Emily Ryan added 11 points and Lexi Donarski had 10.

The Cyclones improved to 25-4 on the season. The win sets up a showdown with Baylor for the Big 12 lead on Monday night at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are 13-3 in league play.

The Creighton Bluejays saw their six-game win streak come to an end with a 72-51 loss at Providence on Saturday.

AJ Reeves poured in seven threes on Senior Night for the Fryars and finished with 23 points to lead all-scorers. The Fryars led 35-26 at half and got the crowd fired up with scores on their first five possessions of the second half. Providence secured their first Big East Title in school history.

Ryan Kalkbrenner led four Bluejays in double figures with 13 points and 9 boards. Ryan Hawkins had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Creighton drops to 19-9 overall and 11-6 in the Big East. Next up for the Jays is a home game against UCONN on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Drake men’s basketball team capped off the regular season with a 62-60 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday at the Knapp Center.

The Bulldogs saw a 14-point halftime lead dwindle down in the second half but they held on for the victory. Tremell Murphy scored 14 points, Roman Penn had 12, and Garrett Sturtz had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bulldogs finish the regular season at 22-9 overall and 13-5 in the Valley. They will now prep for the MVC Tourney where they will meet Southern Illinois again on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

The UNI Panthers secured the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title with a 102-96 win over Loyola in overtime at the McCleod Center on Saturday.

The game was tied at 46 at half and knotted up at 87 at the end of regulation. The Panthers then outscored the Ramblers 15-9 in overtime to grab the win and the title.

AJ Green had 32 points, Bowen Born added 20, and Noah Carter finished with 24 points and 7 rebounds.

UNI improved to 18-10 overall and win the MVC regular season crown with a 14-4 conference mark.

The Panthers now prep for the MVC tournament next week.

Trips to the boys state basketball tournament are on the line tonight in substate final games for Class 1A and 2A. Here are the area matchups.

CLASS 1A

Substate 7 @ Dowling Catholic: Grand View Christian (23-0) vs. St. Albert (12-11) 7:00 p.m.
Substate 8 @ CB Thomas Jefferson: AHSTW (23-1) vs. West Harrison (21-3) 7:00 p.m. – ON KJAN

CLASS 2A

Substate 8 @ AC/GC: Van Meter (20-2) vs. Red Oak (17-7) 7:00 p.m.