CEDAR FALLS – UNI men’s basketball posted another strong second half exhibition on Wednesday night as the Panthers defeated the Bradley Braves 78-65 at the McLeod Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
The Panthers improve to 12-9 on the season and 8-3 in league play, while the Braves fall to 12-11 and 6-5 in the MVC. UNI’s win snaps the previous longest active win streak in the conference at 4 games.
Bradley opened the game strong with a 10-3 run, but UNI quickly came to life, taking the lead on a Bowen Born three-point shot just six and half minutes into the game. The Panthers were able to slow the Braves down from beyond the arc, forcing 18 total turnovers on the night, 10 of which came on UNI defensive steals. Building on a healthy lead, Noah Carter finished the first half off with a jump shot to give the Panthers a 37-28 lead at halftime.
Carter continued to turn up the heat out of the break with a 10-point second half, securing his 9th
conference game this season with at least 15 points scored. Trae Berhow and Tywhon Pickford led UNI from three-point range down the stretch as the Panthers built a 25-point lead with 8 minutes to play. Despite being outrebounded on the night by Bradley, UNI’s hot shooting hand was enough to lift the Panthers to a 3rd consecutive victory.
4 Panthers scored at least 15 points, led by 19 points each from Carter and Berhow. Carter notched a team-high 6 rebounds in the win, while Berhow led UNI with 5 made three-pointers. AJ Green recorded 18 points and a team-high 4 assists, as Born scored 15 points with a pair of steals, one block, and three baskets from beyond the arc.
NOTES
- Wednesday’s game marked the first time since March 2, 2013 that 4 Panthers scored 15+ points in a game. In that home game against Illinois State, Anthony James led UNI with 18 points, while Marc Sonnen and Jake Koch each tallied 18 points. Seth Tuttle notched 15 points in UNI’s 2012-13 regular season finale.
- The Panthers are 5-1 at home this season in MVC games.
- UNI’s win marked the first time the Panthers have won a game this season when being outrebounded by the opponent. Bradley grabbed 40 rebounds to UNI’s 28.
- Noah Carter surpassed 700 career points with his game-high 19-point performance against the Braves.
- Trae Berhow passed 1,100 points as a Panther on Wednesday night with his 19-point game, becoming just the 31st player in program history to do so.
- Tywhon Pickford jumped up to 74th on UNI’s all-time scoring list with 732 career points, passing Scott Stafford (1983-85).
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Feb. 5 on the road at Drake. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT against the Bulldogs at the Knapp Center in Des Moines. Per Drake’s indoor mask policy, face masks are required by all spectators in the arena.
