Boxscore

Northern Iowa beat the buzzer and the Bulldogs Tuesday as the Panthers took a 75-72 win over Louisiana Tech at the Uni-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The loss dropped Tech to 1-2 while Northern Iowa climbed to 2-2.

Northern Iowa's Matt Schneiderman led all scorers with 20 points, but his desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer was his biggest and the difference in the game as the Panthers escaped overtime and came away with the win.

Schneiderman hit the winning shot from the left baseline. Double-teamed and looking for someone to pass to, he launched the ball at the basket in desparation as the horn was about to sound. The ball hit nothing but net to end Tech's hopes of a come-from-behind victory.

"The thing we were worried about coming into the game came back to bite us - the 3-pointer," Tech coach Keith Richard said. "Hopefully it will be a learning lesson for us. The 3-point line was something we wanted to take away, and we didn't."

Tech overcame a ice-cold stretch midway through the game as the Bulldogs trailed 37-28 at intermission after not making a shot from the floor for the final six minutes of the first half. Tech didn't make a shot for the first three minutes of the second before finally hitting a shot from the floor.

"Northern Iowa is a little better than us right now," Richard said. "They know what they do well. Our players are still trying to find out who they are and how they should play. Our coaches know, but the players are young and still trying to find themselves on the court."

JueMichael Young hit on 7-of-15 shots from the floor to lead the Bulldogs with 16 points while Corey Dean added 14 points for Tech.

The Bulldogs' bench played a crucial role with reserves Bruce Edwards and Barry Thompson spurring Tech's comeback with 11 points each.

Tech did a solid job in the paint, scoring 22 inside points and outrebounding Northern Iowa 39-27. Young led all players with two blocks.

Northern Iowa used the long ball to go a lot of its damage, hitting on 10-of-18 attempted 3-pointers in the contest.

"This team needs to play off the dribble," Richard said. "We need to put it on the floor and take it to the basket. Then we can kick it out for 3-pointers. Tonight we just tried to make too many jumpers."

Tech returns to action on Saturday with a 7 p.m. road game at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.