EVANSVILLE, Ind. – UNI men’s basketball struggled to contain Evansville’s three-point shooting and limit giveaways on Wednesday night as the Panthers fell to the Purple Aces in a difficult 71-59 at the Ford Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
The Panthers struggled to defend the Aces in the first half, particularly from beyond the three-point arc as Evansville shot 6-of-12 from beyond the arc during the open stanza. While UNI was able to force 7 Evansville fouls and shoot 42% from, the Panthers struggled greatly to maintain possession, turning the ball over 11 times leading to 11 Purple Aces points off turnovers. Tytan Anderson led the Panthers with 10 points at the half, with James Betz scoring 6 points as Evansville held UNI to just one made field goal during an 8-minute span during the final 10 minutes. UNI would trail by 17 heading into the break, down 43-26.
While off to a slow shooting start, UNI held the Aces scoreless for the first seven and a half minutes of the second half as Evansville missed its first 11 shots of the period. The Panthers meanwhile were able to jump out to 10-0 run and cut their opponent’s lead down to 7 points with just over 13 minutes to play. Despite the defensive stops and effort to show Evansville’s three-point shooting, turnovers continued to haunt the Panthers down the stretch as the Aces outscored UNI 11-3 in fast breaks in the second stanza. UNI was held to 39.3% shooting for the game while Evansville flourished offensively, hitting 50% of its shot attempts.
Anderson led the Panthers with 14 points and 12 rebounds for his MVC-leading tenth double-double of the season in the loss, while Landon Wolf scored 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc and 5 rebounds. James Betz finished the night with 10 points as Born scored 9 points with 3 assists.
PANTHER NOTES
Despite the loss, UNI still leads the all-time series against the Purple Aces 35-29. The Panthers have struggled playing at Evansville, posting a 10-22 record when playing the Aces on the road.
UNI committed a season-high 19 turnovers in Wednesday’s loss, most since giving the ball away 18 times against McNeese State and Toledo.
Evansville outscored the Panthers 24-6 on turnovers on Wednesday, and 34-33 inside the paint.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home for a Saturday afternoon matchup with the Indiana State Sycamores at 1 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center on. UNI will celebrate Equality and Inclusion Day and encourage fans to wear black. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN3 and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
