VALPARAISO, Ind. – UNI men’s basketball muscled its way to a double-digit lead in the second half and didn’t look back on Wednesday night as the Panthers defeated the Valparaiso Beacons, 86-67 at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Northern Iowa recorded its 1,400th win in program history after shooting a season-high 66.7% from the field, and an impressive 80% from the floor on 20-of-25 shooting in the second period alone. UNI now pulls into a four-way tie with Southern Illinois, Belmont and Murray State for fourth-place in the MVC standings with five games to play in the regular season.
With guard Nate Heise sidelined (ankle), Michael Duax got his fifth start of the season and helped the Panthers to an efficient first half on offense, shooting 53.8% from the field. Trading baskets early, UNI’s defense stiffened up after giving up five three-point baskets, putting pressure on the Beacons who struggled with ball control throughout the first 20 minutes of play. After playing much of the first half with a narrow lead, the Panthers opened up some breathing room by holding Valparaiso scoreless for nearly five minutes down the stretch, and also held the Beacons without a field goal for the final three and a half minutes. Landon Wolf led the way for Northern Iowa in the first half with nine points, including a pair of three-point baskets, while Tytan Anderson scored eight points as UNI took a 38-26 lead into halftime.
UNI’s aggressive attack of the interior continued into the second half as Jacob Hutson and Anderson muscled the Panthers inside to maintain a healthy double-digit lead. Northern Iowa’s ball movement opened up the lane for assists on 20 of the Panthers’ 39 scoring possessions. Huston shot a perfect six-for-six from the floor in the final 20 minutes, including a pair of dunks, while Anderson tallied 12 points in the second period to help push UNI to a 19-point victory.
Anderson finished the night with a team-high 20 points, matching a career-high with nine made baskets. Hutson recorded a season-high 19 points, while Wolf’s three-point shooting helped propel him to 16 points. Bowen Born tallied 11 points in the Panther win, as Trey Campbell led UNI with eight rebounds, plus nine points.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improves to 32-5 all-time against the Beacons with Wednesday’s win, and 14-4 on the road against Valparaiso.
In addition to the Panthers winning their 1,400th game in program history, head coach Ben Jacobson also recorded his 350th career win.
Northern Iowa is now 83-12 (.873) when scoring 80+ points under Ben Jacobson
UNI’s 20 assists are the third-most in a game this season. The Panthers previously put up 23 assists at Belmont (Jan. 17, 2024) and 21 against Alcorn State (Dec. 17, 2023)
Tytan Anderson extended his streak of scoring at least one point to 58 consecutive games, the longest streak among active Panthers.
Bowen Born has now scored in double-digit figures in 15 of his last 18 games. Born is also seven points shy of 1,400 in his career and ten points from cracking UNI’s top-ten all-time scoring list.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home on Sunday, February 18 to host the Bradley Braves for the annual Black Out Game. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center with live coverage available on ESPN2 and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
