CHICAGO – The UNI men’s basketball team fell to the Loyola Ramblers 72-57 on Saturday night. The Panthers now fall to 3-9 on the season and 2-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The key matchup of the night was with All-MVC big men Austin Phyfe and Cameron Krutwig. Austin Phyfe finished the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds while hole Krutwig to 8 points and 2 rebounds.
The Panthers led by 7 with 4:03 remaining the first half before a scoring drought left the Panthers with a 1-point lead at the break. The Panthers went 12-27 from the field with 2 made threes in the opening 20 minutes. The Panther defense held the Ramblers to 11-33 from the field and 2-13 from beyond the arc. UNI led the first half for just over 14 minutes.
Phyfe dropped a three pointer to open the second half, giving the Panthers a 32-28 lead with 19:45 on the clock. The Ramblers went on a 12-2 run with 8 minutes remaining in the game to take a 57-49 lead. The Ramblers extended the lead to as many as 18 in the final minutes to clinch the win.
UNI went 24-55 (43.6%) from the field while going 5-19 from beyond the arc. The Ramblers went 28-62 (45.2%) with 6 made threes. The Panthers hauled in 38 rebounds with 14 offensive rebounds and held the Ramblers to just 29 rebounds. The Panthers committed 18 turnovers, a new season high, which the Ramblers took advantage of to score 30 points.
THE PANTHERS
Austin Phyfe recorded his 4th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Phyfe added 3 blocks and 4 assists.
Bowen Born finished with 10 points and went 2-2 from the free throw line, moving his season total to 23-25 from the charity stripe.
Trae Berhow hauled in 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block.
The Panthers led the game for over 21 minutes.
Scored 34 points in the paint.
THE RAMBLERS
Take Hall scored a game high 24 points going 8-12 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line.
Ramblers led the game for 17 minutes.
Ramblers scored 40 points off the bench.
Ramblers scored 38 points in the paint.
Ramblers scored 30 points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will be back in Gentile Arena on Sunday at 5 PM for the second of the series. The game will be broadcast on ESPN with Kevin Lehman and Clay Matvick on the call.
