EVANSVILLE, Ind. – UNI men’s basketball held off a second half Evansville rally on Wednesday night as the Panthers defeated the Purple Aces 64-59 at the Ford Center in southern Indiana.
UNI improves to 10-9 on the season and 5-3 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action, while the Aces fall to 5-14 and 1-7 in league play.
The Panthers jumped out to a quick start offensively, but struggled to defend Evansville’s attack from three-point range. In a defensive battle throughout the game, UNI held the Purple Aces to a single point during a near four-and-a-half-minute stretch during the first half as both teams exchanged shot attempts. Nate Heise and Bowen Born both helped give the Panthers a late spark in the final minutes of the opening open half as UNI closed the first period on a 7-0 run to lead 35-27 at halftime.
The Panthers extended the lead to 15 points early into the second half, thanks to control of the defensive rebounding game. Evansville however continued a hot hand of shooting from beyond the arc, hitting 46.7% from three-point range in the second half while also recording 11 total steals on defense. Leaning on the inside game of Nate Heise, the Panthers were able to maintain the lead for the entirety of the second half, icing the game away at the free throw line in the final minutes to hold on for the 5-point victory.
AJ Green led UNI with a game-high 18 points and 3 assists in the win. Green reached a major career milestone early in the first half scoring his 1,500th career point on his second made shot of the night. Heise posted 12 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for the Panthers. While both Noah Carter and Trae Berhow scored 9 points. Bowen Born scored 9 points off the bench, as Cole Henry laid in two shots for 4 points.
PANTHER NOTES
AJ Green is the 7th Panther to score 1,500 career points playing at UNI, and the first since Seth Tuttle in 2015. Green sits 8th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,515 points, 8 points from passing Eric Coleman (2004-08).
The Panthers are 10-2 this season when outrebounding their opponent. UNI outrebounded the Purple Aces 33-23 on Wednesday night.
UNI sweeps the regular season series against the Purple Aces for the first time since the 2019-20 season, and for the 8th time under head coach Ben Jacobson.
The Panthers have made at least 10 free throws in 11 of the previous 12 games.
Under Ben Jacobson, UNI is 100-83 (.546) coming off a loss.
Trae Berhow passed former Panther and current Drake head coach Darian DeVries (1994-98) on the program’s all-time scoring list with his 9 -point game against Evansville. Berhow ranks 33rd in team history with 1,088 points at UNI since transferring from Pepperdine in 2018.
Austin Phyfe is 41 points from passing his father Steve on UNI’s all-time scoring list. Steve Phyfe played for the Panthers from 1987-90, scoring 912 career points as a member of UNI’s first ever NCAA Tournament team in 1990.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Jan. 29 at home against Illinois State for the Hope Always Game. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of the fight against cancer.
