NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Another impressive second half defensive performance propelled the UNI men’s basketball team to a 83-72 victory on Wednesday night in the Music City as the Panthers recorded their first-ever win against the Belmont Bruins in their short four-game series history.
UNI’s win handed the Bruins their first home loss of the year and snapped Belmont’s 11-game home winning streak inside the Curb Event Center. The Panthers have now won eight of their last ten games, including seven of their last eight.
Panther head coach Ben Jacobson also made history in Wednesday’s win tying former Oklahoma State coach Henry P. Iba for the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) all-time record for wins against league opponents with 187 victories.
Control of the lead in the first half of Wednesday’s game changed hands seven times in the first 20 minutes as Northern Iowa and Belmont both shot efficiently from the floor, combining for 12 three-point field goals, including five baskets from long range by UNI. Despite being outrebounded by seven in the opening stanza, the Panthers built a multi-possession lead as large as eight points, paced by ten points and six rebounds from Nate Heise, an active Tytan Anderson in the paint and a pair of Cole Henry dunks. The Bruins would chip away, however and take a one-point lead into the halftime break, 40-39.
UNI dominated the second half on both ends of the floor, slowing down Belmont’s three-point attack and shooting five-of-11 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes of play. The Panthers would take the lead on a Jacob Hutson layup just 75 seconds into the second half and never looked back, stretching their lead to as many as 14 points.On a night where the Panthers dished out a season-high 23 assists, Northern Iowa shared the rock in the second period, led by an 11-point half by Bowen Born, with Heise tacking on ten more points as part of another impressive performance and Hutson attacking inside the paint.
Heise finished the night with his third double-double of the season with a team-high 20 points and ten rebounds, while also notching a career-best eight-assists performance. Trey Campbell recorded 15 points in the Panther win with three made three-pointers, plus a career-best five assists in a season-high 37 minutes, while both Born and Anderson notched 13 points each. Hutson tallied eight total points with a career-high two blocks, as Henry tied his season-highs in points (7), assists (4) and made field goals (3).
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Wednesday’s win was Northern Iowa’s first-ever win against Belmont, snapping a three-game skid to the Bruins. UNI began its’ series with Belmont last season when the Bruins joined the MVC.
UNI recorded its 1,396th all-time win in school history with its road win in Nashville.
The Panthers are now 82-12 (.872) when scoring 80+ points under head coach Ben Jacobson.
In addition to a season-high 23 assists, UNI also tied its season-low with just six turnovers, matching its performance against Stanford in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in November.
Tytan Anderson has now scored at least one point in 50 consecutive games, the longest streak among active Panthers.
Trey Campbell surpassed 400 career points on Wednesday night, joining Born, Heise, Anderson and Duax as active Panthers with at least 400 points scored in their UNI careers.
UP NEXT
UNI returns home on Saturday, January 20 to host the Southern Illinois Salukis. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center, with live coverage available on CBS Sports Network and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
