CEDAR FALLS – The UNI men’s basketball team hosted the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago on Sunday afternoon, winning an overtime thriller 67-62, and moving to 17-3 overall.
The Panthers entered halftime leading the Ramblers 32-28. As a team UNI shot 53.8% going 14-26 from the field, and 30% (3-10) from beyond the arc. UNI stepped up on the defensive end, forcing the Ramblers to commit 8 turnovers and to shoot 44% from the field.
AJ Green lead all scorers with 10 points through the first 20 minutes of play, going 4-6 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the arc. Antwan Kimmons provided a spark off the bench scoring 7 points.
The Panthers jumped out to 11 point lead with 10:30 left in the second half on an old fashioned and one, the three point play by Antwan Kimmons would be the largest lead of the game.The Panthers contained the lead the whole 20 minutes of play until the last 3.5 seconds, where Loyola’s Tate Hall sank two free throws to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, UNI scored first on two free throws from Trae Berhow and answered Loyola when Spencer Haldeman hit a corner three with 3:19 remaining to put the Panthers up 65-60. The Panthers came up big from the free throw line, scoring 9 of the 12 points in overtime from the charity stripe to secure the teams sixth MVC victory.
KEY STATS
Austin Phyfe scored 14 points and hauled in 9 rebounds
AJ Green scored 14 points going 4-12 from the field and 2-5 from three
Antwan Kimmons tied a career high with 13 points going (5-7) from the field
Spencer Haldeman finished 4-6 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc for 12 points
The Panthers, now 17-3 overall, and 6-2 in the MVC, will host the Bears of Missouri State on Wednesday, January 29th at the McLeod Center. The Bear are 10-10 overall and 4-3 in the MVC. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+.
