TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – UNI men’s basketball faced a hot shooting Indiana State team on Wednesday, escaping the Hulman Center with an 88-82 victory over the Sycamores in the final road game of the 2021-22 season.
UNI improves to 17-10 on the season, and 13-4 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play, while Indiana State falls to 11-18, and 4-13 in the league.
Facing a Sycamore team just 2 days removed from a road game at Drake, UNI attacked the basket early as both teams shot over 50% from the field in the first half. The Panthers notched 10 assists in the opening period on 15 made baskets, as Bowen Born led UNI with 8 first half points, including a pair of three-point field goals. Indiana State used quick transition play late to pull ahead, sending the Panthers to the locker room trailing 41-40.
The Sycamores pressured UNI inside to begin the second half, while also attacking from three-point range. UNI continued to stay aggressive in the paint despite a pressing defense, posting another solid half of shooting, hitting 19-of-28 shots from the floor. Forcing 8 Indiana State turnovers in the final 20 minutes, the Panthers outscored the Sycamores 8-0 on takeaways and 28-10 in the paint, pulling away in the final minute of play for the 6-point victory.
AJ Green led UNI with a team-high 21 points, as Noah Carter recorded 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Bowen Born finished the night with 13 points and 4 assists, with Trae Berhow posting 12 points and 4 rebounds. Nate Heise pulled down 5 rebounds to complement an 8-point scoring performance, with Tywhon Pickford notching 7 points. Off the bench, Tytan Anderon scored 6 points in 9 and a half minutes of play.
PANTHER NOTES
Wednesday’s victory was UNI’s 9th all-time at Indiana State.
UNI and Indiana State exchanged the lead 18 times in Wednesday’s game. The Panthers led for just under 29 and a half minutes in the win.
Noah Carter has now scored 15 or more points in 13 of UNI’s 17 MVC games this season.
The Panthers improve to 74-9 when scoring 80+ points under head coach Ben Jacobson. UNI is also 8-2 this season when scoring over 80 points.
UNI finishes the road portion of the MVC schedule with a 7-1 record, with the only loss coming on Jan. 19 at Valparaiso.
Trae Berhow’s 12-point performance moves him past Tony Brus (1995-99) for 23rd on UNI’s all-time scoring list with 1,183 points as a Panther.
Austin Phyfe is 11 points from passing his father Steve on the program’s all-time scoring list. Steve Phyfe, who played for the Panthers from 1987-90 as a member of UNI’s first ever NCAA Tournament team in 1990, scored 912 points in his 3-year career.
Noah Carter jumped to 69th on UNI’s career scoring list with his 793rd point on Wednesday. Carter is 9 points from passing Nick Nurse for 68th all-time.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Feb. 26 to close out the regular season against the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago in a game to decide the MVC’s regular season championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center.
