VALPARAISO, IN – UNI men’s basketball forced overtime but was unable to extend the game on the final shot as the Panthers fell to Valparaiso 83-80 on Wednesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
The Panthers drop to 9-8 on the season and 5-2 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play, while the Beacons improve to 9-10, and 2-5 in MVC action.
UNI opened the game with a rousing start as Bowen Born knocked down a three-point shot in his first start of the season. Valparaiso came out shooting strong in the opening minutes to keep pace with the Panther offense before UNI began to find a groove. The Panthers capitalized early off of Beacon turnovers, scoring 22 first half points off of Valparaiso giveaways, helping UNI carry a 39-34 lead into halftime.
Noah Carter dominated the second half for the Panthers scoring 20 points in the second frame to pace UNI with six baskets from beyond the arc against a surging Beacon offense. Valparaiso would take the lead and go up by as many as 7 points with 1:31 to play in regulation before the Panthers tied the game with 9 seconds remaining on a Nate Heise layup off his own missed shot. In overtime, UNI would take a 4-point lead after an Austin Phyfe hook shot before Valparaiso pulled ahead by 3 points in the final minute to hand UNI the tough road loss.
Carter led the Panthers with a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds, as well as a team-high 5 assists for his third career double-double. Trae Berhow scored 14 points with 4 made three-point field goals in the loss, as Bowen Born recorded 11 points. Heise notched 9 points and 6 rebounds, as Phyfe recorded 7 points and 4 rebounds.
PANTHER NOTES
The loss snaps UNI’s 5-game winning streak, the longest for the program since January/February 2020.
With his career performance against the Beacons, Noah Carter has recorded at least 15 points in all 7 MVC games this season. Wednesday night was also Carter’s seventh career game of 20+ points.
UNI and Valparaiso have now split the regular season series each of the last two seasons, as well as the last four overall meetings.
The Panthers are 72-9 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Ben Jacobson.
Noah Carter’s 6 three-point field goals against the Beacons were a season-high, and the most he has made since setting the program’s single game record with 9 against Western Kentucky in the 2020-21 season opener.
Trae Berhow jumped to 33rd on UNI’s all-time scoring list on Wednesday with his 1,073rd point as a Panther. Berhow is now 12 points from passing former Panther and current Drake head coach Darian DeVries on the list.
Austin Phyfe is 48 points from passing his father Steve Phyfe (1987-90) on the program’s all-time scoring list. Phyfe sits with 865 career points, 59th most in UNI history.
Tywhon Pickford broke his tie with Herbert King (1980-84) for 79th on UNI’s all-time scoring list with his 715th career point.
Noah Carter’s 33-point game at Valparaiso moves him up to 90th in scoring all-time at UNI with 648 career points.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Jan. 22 at home to take on the Drake Bulldogs in the men’s basketball alumni game, featuring recognition of former Panther players. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the McLeod Center.
