Patriots extend nation's longest win streak to 13 games with victory over Northern Iowa

Junior guard Andre Cornelius was hot from beyond the arc in Saturday's 77-71 win over Northern Iowa in their ESPN BracketBuster contest. He scored 24 points on 5-8 shooting from three-point range. (John Powell)

Thirteen and counting.

The Patriots put their nation-leading 12 consecutive wins to the test Saturday night on the road at Northern Iowa (19-10, 10-6), a team just one year removed from a miraculous run to the Sweet Sixteen, and escaped with a hard-fought 77-71 victory.

The Patriots (23-5, 14-2) captured the country’s longest streak following their 71-51 road victory over VCU Tuesday night, the same night that Coastal Carolina snapped their 22 game streak.

The game, which was an ESPN BracketBuster contest aired on ESPN2, was dominated by the three-point shot on both ends of the court. The Patriots built an early lead, 21-13, off the hot shooting of junior guard Andre Cornelius, who hit his first three attempts from beyond the arc. Redshirt freshman Vertrail Vaughns also came in off the bench and knocked down his first attempt from three in the early going.

The lead was short lived, however, as the Panthers responded with hot shooting of their own. Not only did they come back, but they built a lead of their own. Northern Iowa made eight three-pointers in the first half to take a 36-32 lead entering the locker room at the break.

The Panthers’ hot shooting didn’t end there. They started the second half by cashing in on two more threes to open up a 42-32 margin.

The Patriots’ sophomore Luke Hancock then hit two three-pointers of his own as they fought their way back to within two, 42-40. The very next play, however, the Panthers’ Kerwin Dunham responded with another trey.

The Panthers maintained the lead until the 3:39 mark in the second half, when Hancock found senior guard Cam Long under the basket for a layup, tying the game at 61-61.

Mason eventually extended the lead to six, 71-65, after Cornelius knocked down two shots from the free-throw line with under one minute to go.

But it was far from over.

UNI’s Kwadzo Ahelegbe made two free-throws, then the Panthers stole the Patriots’ in-bounds pass and made a layup to cut the margin to just two points with 26 seconds remaining. After Cornelius and Ahelegbe each made two more shots from the charity stripe, it was once again a two-point differential.

With pressure in his face and everybody swarmed in the front-court, Hancock attempted a heave down the court to junior Ryan Pearson, but the ball sailed too high and flew out-of-bounds. The Panthers had the ball down just two points, 73-71, with 12 seconds remaining. An eternity in college basketball.

Pearson returned the favor by stealing the in-bounds pass to seal the game and the thirteenth straight win for the Patriots. Pearson had another great all-around performance with 21 points and 15 rebounds. This was his fifth double-double on the season. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his night was going a perfect 13-13 from the three-throw line. He has been an inconsistent free-throw shooter throughout his career, but recently changed his technique, and it seems to be paying off.

Cornelius led the Patriots in scoring with his hot outside shooting. He made 5-8 from long-range, 7-12 from the field and 5-6 from the line for 24 points. Hancock also scored in double figures with 14 points to go along with three assists. Although Long scored just eight points, he made a key three-pointer with 1:22 remaining in the second half and had three assists.

UNI’s Ahelegbe led all scores with 26.

Both teams shot 43 percent from three-point range for the game. The Patriots went 9-21 and the Panthers, known for their outside shooting, went 13-30.

Mason found themselves just outside the rankings entering the week in both the AP Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Coming off a week in which they won two road games against quality opponents to maintain the longest winning streak in the country, there is a strong possibility they will be ranked nationally on Monday. They are currently ranked 22nd in the RPI Poll and are projected as a seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament.

They return home Thursday, Feb. 24, to face conference foe Northeastern (10-18, 5-11). They conclude the regular season two days later at Georgia State (11-16, 6-10).