DES MOINES – The UNI men’s basketball team took on in-state rival Drake on Wednesday night, falling 80-59 in Des Moines.
The Panthers and Bulldogs battled early in the first half, trading leads in the opening minutes of play. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to lead the Panthers by 5 with 7:16 remaining in the half. Cole Henry and Nate Heise provided a spark in the final minutes when Henry finished a one handed dunk followed by a deep three from Heise to cut the Drake lead to 6. The spark wouldn’t be enough to stop the Bulldogs momentum with Drake scoring 11 points in the final 4 minutes. The Panthers finished trailing the Bulldogs 41-29 at halftime.
The Panthers struggled from beyond the arc in the first half going 2-11 from distance. UNI was out rebounded in the first 20 minutes 25-16. The Panthers went 13-34 (38.2%) from the field and 1-3 from the charity stripe. Trae Berhow finished with 7 first half points while Austin Phyfe led the team with 4 first half rebounds.
UNI opened the second half with a 7-0 run to slash the Bulldog lead to 9 in the first 4 minutes. The momentum wouldn’t last as the Bulldogs moved ahead 65-48 to lead by 17 with 8 minutes left in the half and extended their lead to 23. Drake outscored the Panthers 39-30 in the second half to finish with an 80-59 victory.
UNI went 10-22 from the field while going 7-9 from the free throw line with 3 made three pointers in the second half. The Panthers were led by Trae Berhow with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Austin Phyfe hauled in a team high 6 rebounds with Berhow and freshman Bowen Born finishing with 3 assists.
THE PANTHERS
UNI shot 41.1% (23-56) from the field.
Trae Berhow led the Panthers with 14 points (5-12).
Austin Phyfe hauled in a team high 6 rebounds
Panthers led the game for 6 minutes
THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs shot 47.6% (30-63) from the field.
Tremell Murphy and Joseph Yesufu each scored a team high 18 points.
Shanquan Hemphill hauled in a team high 9 rebounds.
The Bulldogs lead for 32 minutes.
Scored 32 points in the paint.
The Bulldogs recorded 29 points off the bench.
The Panthers get back to action February 13-14 when they host the Crusaders of Valparaiso. The Panthers and Crusaders will take the floor at 7 pm on Saturday February 13 on the MVC TV Network. The teams will take the court at 6 pm on Sunday, February 14 with a Panther Sports Network broadcast.
