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UNI men’s basketball opens Arch Madness with win over Redbirds, 78-65

ST. LOUIS – UNI men’s basketball opened up the 2022 edition of Arch Madness with a hot shooting afternoon as the top-seeded Panthers defeated the 8th-seeded Illinois State Redbirds on Friday, 78-65 at the Enterprise Center.

The Panthers improve to 19-10 on the season, while the Redbirds fall to 13-20. UNI now advances to the semifinal round of the MVC Tournament for the seventh time under head coach Ben Jacobson, and first time since 2019.

UNI locked down on defense and emphasized ball movement to create open shots from all areas of the floor, racking up 16 total assists. Having to defend against a Redbird lineup not afraid to shoot the three-point shot, UNI’s ball movement helped create several scoring opportunities for multiple Panthers, including Noah Carter, AJ Green and Trae Berhow. Shooting 51.7% from the field in the opening half, UNI took a 10-point lead into the halftime break, 40-30.

In the second half, the Panther offense continued to attack, capitalizing off of 15 Illinois State turnovers on the day. UNI dominated the offense boards, pulling down 9 offensive rebounds to the Redbirds’ 2 off missed shot attempts, while the Panthers also led the game at the free throw line with 14 made shots. UNI outscored the Redbirds 36-16 in the paint, pulling away late to secure the 13-point victory.

AJ Green led the afternoon with a team-high 17 points with 6 rebounds and a game-high 7 assists, as Noah Carter posted 16 points with 5 boards. Trae Berhow notched 15 points, with Nate Heise scoring 9 points. Bowen Born posted 6 points off the bench, as both Tywhon Pickford and Austin Phyfe scored 6 points each.

PANTHER NOTES

UNI has now won 7 consecutive games against Illinois State, the program’s longest active winning streak against MVC opponents.

With the win, the Panthers improve to 6-6 against the Redbirds at Arch Madness, the most wins the program holds against any opponent all-time at the tournament.

The Panthers are now 27-23 all-time in Arch Madness games with Friday’s win.

AJ Green is now 5th all-time in career scoring at UNI, improving his total to 1,729 points. Green passed Bill McCoy (1969-73) and Jason Daisy (1992-97) with his 17-point performance against the Redbirds.

Trae Berhow joined UNI’s top 20 in scoring with his 1,200th point on Friday, tying Craig Kneppe (1963-66) and Deon Mitchell (2011-15).

Scoring 6 points against Illinois State, Austin Phyfe passed his father Steve on UNI’s all-time scoring list with his 913th point. Steve Phyfe, who played for UNI from 1987-90 as a member of the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament team in 1990, ranks 55th in career scoring for the Panthers.

Noah Carter now ranks 64th in career scoring for the Panthers after his 16-point game against Illinois State, passing Bill Runchey (1972-76).

Tywhon Pickford improves to 72nd on UNI’s all-time scoring list, passing Brian Carpenter (1992-96) with 775 points.

UP NEXT
The Panthers advance to Saturday’s semifinal round of the MVC Tournament, facing the winner of the Loyola-Chicago/Bradley quarterfinal. First tip for Saturday’s semifinal is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT at Enterprise Center.

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