CARBONDALE, Ill. – UNI men’s basketball battled the Southern Illinois Salukis into the final seconds on Saturday night, edging SIU by a narrow 69-68 margin at the Banterra Center for a fifth consecutive victory.
The Panthers improve to 9-7 on the season and 5-1 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play. Southern Illinois drops to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Facing off against one of the top scoring defenses in the nation, UNI held the Salukis scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of regulation. SIU picked up offensively from beyond the three-point arc to take a 2-point lead midway through the opening half, but the Panthers responded with a 6-0 run to close the opening stanza and take a 36-26 lead into halftime.
UNI controlled the first half outrebounding SIU 16-9, but struggled early on defense in the second half as the Salukis shot 50% from the floor to chip away at the Panther lead. SIU forced 5 UNI fouls in the first 6 minutes of the second period as the Saluki offense found it’s rhythm. Despite the uptick in Southern Illinois’ offensive output, the Panthers finished strong despite the Salukis taking a one-point lead with just under 5 minutes to play. With 15 second half free throw as a team, Noah Carter scored 6 of UNI’s final 12 points, while AJ Green iced the game away with a pair of shots at the charity stripe in the final seconds, giving the Panthers the one-point victory.
Green finished the night with a team-high 22 points, with 11 points coming from the free throw line. Noah Carter notched his 6th conference game this season with at least 15 points, scoring 17 points, with 7 rebounds. Nate Heise posted 11 points for the Panthers with 7 boards. Bowen Born recorded a pair of steals for UNI, as Trae Berhow played a key role on defense, finishing with 6 points and 4 rebounds.
PANTHER NOTES
The Panthers have now won 5 consecutive games for the first time since January/February 2020, when UNI won 6 straight games.
UNI has made 19+ free throws in each of the last 3 games.
The Panthers are 5-0 this season when leading at halftime, and 9-2 when outrebounding the opponent.
Noah Carter joined UNI’s 600 career point club with his 17-point performance against the Salukis. Carter also jumps to 91st on the program’s all-time scoring list, passing Jared Josten (2004-08).
Tywhon Pickford is now tied with Herbert King (1980-84) for 79th on UNI’s all-time scoring list with 711 points.
With 5 points against Southern Illinois, Austin Phyfe is now 55 points from passing his father Steve Phyfe (1987-90) on the program’s all-time scoring list. Austin currently sits with 858 points.
AJ Green sits 30 points shy of joining the program’s 1,500 career point club after his 22 -point game against SIU. Only 7 other players in UNI men’s basketball history have ever scored 1,500 points.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Jan. 19 on the road at Valparaiso. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.