CARBONDALE, Ill. – A season-high 17 turnovers plagued the UNI men’s basketball team on Wednesday night as the Panthers fell on the road to the Southern Illinois Salukis in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action by a score of 65-50.
Struggling early to hit the three-point shot and giving up SIU points in transition and off turnovers, the Northern Iowa was held to 40.4% shooting on the night, turning the ball over ten times in the final frame as the Salukis pulled away late to drop the Panthers to 13-8 overall and 5-6 in league play.
The Panther offense struggled from three-point range in the opening half, hitting just one of ten attempts from beyond the arc. Southern Illinois would thrive in transition off missed Northern Iowa layups and bury four triples in the first 20 minutes, building a double-digit lead into the final minute of action as UNI was held to 31% shooting in the half. Trey Campbell led the Panthers with seven points in the first half along with three steals, with four points from Will Hornseth and three points each by Ben Schwieger and Ismael Diouf as UNI entered halftime trailing, 27-19.
Northern Iowa’s offense was able to cut the Saluki lead down to as many as five points with the Panthers rattling off seven straight points early in the half on baskets from RJ Taylor and Schwieger, plus free throws by Hornseth. Ten second half turnovers would hurt the Panthers despite improved three-point shooting and a ten-point half by Hornseth on three-of-four shooting and four made free throws.
Hornseth finished the game with a team-high 14 points with ten points from Schwieger, who also added a team-high seven rebounds. Campbell tallied seven points, with five points by Taylor, four points a piece by Leon Bond III and Geon Hutchins. Max Weisbrod and Diouf each posted three points with Weisbrod notching a team-high four assists.
“Unfortunately we just didn’t get enough out of the first half offensively,” said head coach Ben Jacobson. “I felt like our guys made some good plays early with good looks, but in the first 12 to 14 possessions, we just didn’t get points out of them. Defensive we did a lot of good things, but offensively it was a really hard first half. In the second half we put together a good stretch and fought hard, but we turned it over too much. Tomorrow we’ll wake up and figure out what we need to do to get better for Saturday.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI falls to 39-41 all-time against Southern Illinois in the 80th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Salukis.
Northern Iowa’s defense held SIU under 70 points for a third consecutive game.
The Panthers have also made at least one three-pointer in 169 consecutive games.
Trey Campbell started his 118th career game on Wednesday, breaking a tie with Brooks McKowen (2003-07) for the fourth-most starts in program history. Campbell’s 118 career starts are most among active players in the MVC.
Campbell also surpassed 1,200 career points in the loss with his 1,205th point, passing both Craig Kneppe (1963-66) and Deon Mitchell (2011-15) for 23rd on the program’s all-time scoring list.
Leon Bond III sits 28 points shy of scoring his 500th point as a Panther after Wednesday’s game.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 31 when they host the Evansville Purple Aces in their annual Hope Always Game in support of cancer awareness with fans encouraged to wear lavender. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (93.5 The Mix).
