NORMAL, Ill. – UNI’s defense rose to the challenge and forced a season-high 20 turnovers as the Panthers won their eighth consecutive game, 66-60, over the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday afternoon at CEFCU Arena.
Head coach Ben Jacobson also made history on Saturday with his 327th win at UNI, tying former Creighton coach Dana Altman for third on the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) all-time wins list.
The Panthers challenged the Redbirds on defense from the opening tip, holding Illinois State to 32% shooting from the field. UNI forced 10 first half turnovers, scoring 9 points of Redbird giveaways. After being initially slowed inside the paint, the Panther offense broke through in the lane with Tytan Anderson, Michael Duax and James Betz. Bowen Born knocked down a trio of three-point shots in the opening stanza for a 14-point half, with Cole Henry leading with 4 rebounds as UNI took a 31-25 lead into the halftime break.
UNI opened the second half with a 10-0 run to begin the period while maintaining a strong defensive presence. Born continued his hot hand from beyond the arc with a pair of three-point baskets, while Cole Henry opened the offense up inside, highlighted by a monster dunk. Illinois State would rally however, cutting the Panthers’ lead down to as few as three points on 41.4% shooting in the half and 11 points from Liam McChesney. The Panther defense would prevail forcing an additional 10 turnovers, and holding the Redbird scoreless for just over four minutes down the final stretch, preserving the victory for UNI.
Born ended the day with a game-high 25 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range. Anderson scored 16 points with a game-high 9 rebounds and a career-high 6 steals, while Henry tallied 8 points and 7 boards in the win. Campbell finished with 7 points, scored on a series of 5 critical free throws down the stretch.
PANTHER NOTE
UNI improves to 43-45 all-time against Illinois State with Saturday’s win. The victory extends the Panthers’ longest active winning streak against any opponent to 8 games.
Bowen Born’s 25 points against Illinois State mark the fifth-highest scoring game of his career. Each of Born’s seven-highest scoring games of his career have come in the last 10 games.
The Panthers are 2-2 playing on New Year’s Eve under Ben Jacobson.
UP NEXT
UNI returns to action on Wednesday, January 4 as the Panthers visit Valparaiso for a 6 p.m. CT game at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
