CEDAR FALLS – The UNI men’s basketball team took on the Drake Bulldogs on Wednesday night, falling in the final game of the series 77-69.
The Panthers honored the team’s four senior managers prior to the game. Seniors Jaxson Foster, Haley Langstraat, Cade Niehaus, and Nick Hoppel all received on court recognition in front of the Panthers home crowd with family and friends in attendance.
UNI opened the first half going 5-7 from the field and led 11-8 after the first five minutes of play. The Bulldogs managed to take their first lead of the game at 24-23 with 6:55 remaining from a Joseph Yesufu three pointer. The Panthers and Bulldogs saw multiple ties down the stretch but it was the Bulldogs that entered halftime with a 31-30 lead.
The Panthers traded leads early in the second half before Drake pulled ahead by 11 following a 6 point scoring run with 8:30 remaining in the game. Trae Berhow knocked down a jumper with 3:29 remaining to cut the Bulldogs lead to 6 at 66-60. The Bulldogs held on in the final minutes to take the game 77-69.
The Panthers had 4 players in double digits with Austin Phyfe leading the way with 19 points followed by Trae Berhow with 13, Nate Heise with 12 and Bowen Born with 10. Phyfe finished the night going 8-12 from the floor with 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Noah Carter hauled in a team high 9 rebounds while Tywhon Pickford came off the bench and grabbed 8 rebounds.
THE PANTHERS
-Austin Phyfe scored a team high 19 points going 8-12 from the field.
-Noah Carter hauled in 9 rebounds, Tywhon Pickford grabbed 8 rebounds.
-Tywhon Pickford dished out 5 assists.
-UNI scored 40 points in the paint.
-UNI led for just under 14 minutes
-UNI shot 43.9% (29-66) from the field.
THE BULLDOGS
-Joseph Yesufu scored a team high 20 points while Garret Sturtz finished with 19 points/
-Darnell Brodie hauled in 10 rebounds.
-Roman Penn dished out 8 assists.
-UNI shot 50.0% (30-60) from the field.
-Drake scored 38 points in the paint.
-Drake scored 28 points off the bench.
UP NEXT
The Panthers now get 9 days before traveling to Normal, Illinois for the final series of the year, taking on Illinois State. The Panthers and Redbirds will take the floor on Friday, February 26 at 8 pm on ESPNU. The two will play again on Saturday at 5 pm on CBS Sports Network.
