CEDAR FALLS – The UNI men’s basketball team fell to Valparaiso on Saturday night, 70-57 inside the McLeod Center. The Panthers now fall to 6-14 overall and 4-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Panthers struggled early in the first half, through the first twelve minutes the Panthers made just 5 of their 22 shots from the field and went just 1-10 from beyond the three point arc. Valparaiso managed to go 9-17 from the field with 5 made threes in the opening 12 minutes.
Valparaiso led by as many as 16 late in the first half before Bowen Born fired off 7 straight points. The Panthers late push cut the Valparaiso lead to 9. The Panthers entered halftime trailing the MVC rival 39-27.
UNI cut the Valparaiso lead to 10 in the second half following a Trae Berhow three with 14:06 remaining on the clock. Valparaiso continued to move ahead, leading by 21 with 6:50 remaining in the game. The Panthers would be outscored 31-30 in the second half to fall 70-57.
NORTHERN IOWA
-UNI shot 33.9% (21-62) from the field.
-UNI went 5-22 from beyond the three point arc.
-Trae Berhow and Bowen Born each finished with a team high 15 points.
-Austin Phyfe finished one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
VALPARAISO
-Valpo shot 55.1% (27-49) from the field.
-Valpo went 11-24 from beyond the three point arc.
-Ben Krikke and Jacob Ognacevic finished with a team high 12 points.
-Eron Gordon and Donovan Clay hauled in a team high 6 rebounds.
-Valpo’s largest lead was 20 with 6:50 left in the half.
-Valpo led for over 38 minutes.
UNI and Valparaiso will be back on the floor Sunday night for the final game of the series. The game will be broadcast on the Panther Sports Network and can be found online on ESPN+, the game will tip off at 6 pm.
