NORMAL, Ill. – A red-hot shooting Redbird squad and second half foul troubles sank the Panthers chances at an 11th straight win over their Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) rivals as UNI men’s basketball fell at Illinois State, 81-73 at CEFCU Arena on Wednesday night.
After a back-and-forth opening stanza, Northern Iowa could not contain the Redbirds from beyond the arc, dropping its first game to Illinois State since the 2019-20 season.
The Panthers kept the hot shooting Redbirds within reach in the first half, shooting 41.9% from the field and challenging Illinois State with a pressing defensive effort. In an opening period that featured 12 lead changes and five ties, UNI maintained solid ball control with just two turnovers in the first 20 minutes and pulled down seven offensive rebounds. A Nate Heise three-pointer and Kyle Pock jumper gave the Panthers a brief 5-0 run to take the lead with three and a half minutes left in the first frame, but the Redbirds closed strong to take a 37-34 lead late into the locker room.
Illinois State continued to shoot the ball at a high level out of halftime at a 57.1% clip as the Panthers quickly got into foul trouble. UNI would fall behind by as many as ten points, continuing to struggle at the free throw line and convert on three-point shots before cutting the Redbirds’ lead down to four points in the final minute. Northern Iowa’s application of pressure helped force a number of late game turnovers by Illinois State, but was not enough as the Panthers came up short in the seven-point loss.
Heise finished the night with a team-high 20 points for his sixth 20+ point game of the season, tying a career-high with nine made field goals along with five rebounds. Bowen Born tallied 14 points with a game-high four assists, while Tytan Anderson recorded 13 points and four rebounds. Cole Henry posted a six-point performance, with Michael Duax finishing with five points and both Jacob Hutson and Pock each posting four points each.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The all-time series between UNI and Illinois State, the longest running by number of games in Panther history, is now tied at 45-45 following Wednesday night’s loss in Normal.
UNI’s loss snaps a ten-game winning streak against the Redbirds, its longest in program history and the second-longest streak by either team in the rivalry since Illinois State won 15 in a row from 1974 to 1994.
Northern Iowa’s four turnovers on Wednesday were its fewest in a game this season, and the fewest since committing four against the Redbirds back on Feb. 15, 2022.
Jacob Hutson scored his 500th career point in the first half. Hutson, a transfer center who previously played at Loyola-Chicago, has scored a career-high 247 points this season alone in his first year at UNI.
Tytan Anderson extended his streak of scoring at least one point to 60 consecutive games on Wednesday, the longest streak among active Panthers. Anderson also scored his 800th career point, becoming the 73rd player in program history to reach that milestone.
Bowen Born has now recorded double-digit points in 17 of his last 20 games.
Born also sank his 200th career three-point field goal, joining Matt Bohannon, AJ Green, Trae Berhow, Ben Jacobson, Johnny Moran, Marc Sonnen as the only players in team history to do so.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home on Saturday to face off against in-state rival Drake. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
Fans are encouraged to wear purple for the team’s annual Purple Out Game. Tickets can be purchased online at UNIpanthers.com/tickets, or by calling the ticket office directly at 319-273-4849.
UNI students will also have a chance to win a $1,000 scholarship drawing during the game. Click HERE for rules and eligibility to win.
