PORTLAND, Ore. - The University of Northern Iowa basketball team has thrived in close games this year.

Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Panthers had won seven of their last eight games decided by five or fewer points.

Thursday, UNI couldn't make the pivotal shot or defensive stop that could have gotten it over the hump in a 61-56 loss to Purdue at the Rose Garden.

"We were close, but we couldn't get a play or two to push it over the edge," forward Adam Koch said. "We needed to get two or three plays to go our way to get the win."

It wasn't for a lack of opportunities.

UNI trimmed Purdue's double-digit margin to six points on six occasions in the second half. Each time the Panthers tried to draw closer, the Boilermakers converted with a basket or UNI misfired on a 3-pointer.

Koch had a chance to make it a one-possession game with 30 seconds to go. As he cut along the baseline and attempted to bank in a shot, he was whistled for an offensive foul.

"I figured it was 50-50 which way the call was going to go," Koch said.

Most the players agreed afterward the sluggish start was the culprit for UNI's defeat.

"It's tough, but you can't worry about that," UNI guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe said. "They made some shots early to put us in a tough position to get back in the game.

"Those are shots we've made all year. When you're a jump-shooting team like we are, sometimes they don't go down for you. That was the case today."

The Panthers shot 37 percent, including 7-for-22 from the 3-point line.

"We did a good job of cutting the lead from 12 to six, but we couldn't get past that point," Kerwin Dunham said. "They did a good job of responding like good teams do when we tried to make a run."

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com.