DEKALB, Ill. – Four Panther starters surpassed double-digit points on Thursday night as UNI men’s basketball wrapped up the non-conference portion of the 2023-24 schedule with a 76-63 road win at Northern Illinois.
UNI took advantage of a hot-shooting hand and eight first half turnovers by the Huskies to build an 18-point lead, but would have to stave off a hungry Northern Illinois squad in the final period to secure the program’s first three-game win streak since last January.
UNI bolted out of the gate offensively, hitting its first six shot attempts of the game, including a four-point play by Bowen Born on a fouled three-point basket. Kyle Pock knocked down three shots from beyond the three-point line to lead the purple and gold with nine first-half points, while both Nate Heise and Trey Campbell scored seven points each. The Panther defense also came to play, holding the Huskies to just 32% shooting in the opening stanza, forcing eight turnovers and recording four steals. With a 50% team shooting clip in the first 20 minutes, Northern Iowa took a 43-26 lead into the halftime break.
Northern Illinois emerged from the locker room with momentum and soon cut into the Panthers’ double-digit lead on six made three-pointers. Despite some foul trouble for UNI, and NIU dominating the offensive glass, the Panthers quickly found themselves in the bonus after 11 second-half penalties by the Huskies, shooting 13-of-17 from the free throw line. Northern Iowa iced the game in the final two minutes by melting away the clock thanks to a pair of offensive rebounds, sealed by a Tytan Anderson dunk.
Anderson finished the night with a game-high 17 points, tying his career-high with nine made free throws. Born notched 15 points on four-of-eight shooting, while Heise tallied 13 points and six rebounds. Jacob Hutson scored 11 points, complimented by a career-high six assists, with Campbell and Pock both finishing with nine points a piece.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improves to 16-8 all-time against the Huskies with Thursday’s win, extending the program’s win streak against NIU to five games.
Northern Iowa has made at least eight three-point field goals in each of its last seven games.
The Panthers are now two wins shy of the program’s 700th win as a Division I program, and eight victories away from the team’s 1,400th all-time win.
Tytan Anderson extended his streak of scoring at least one point to 45 consecutive games, the longest streak among active UNI players.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will return to action following the holiday break at Missouri State on Wednesday, Jan. 3 to begin the bulk of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) schedule. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, with live coverage available on the MVC TV Network and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
