From UNI Athletics
Saturday’s Game
NORMAL, Illinois – The UNI men’s basketball team defeated the Redbirds of Illinois State 94-87 in double overtime on Saturday. The win marked Ben Jacobson‘s 300th career victory.
The Panthers jumped out to a 11-2 lead following a 9-0 run to start the half. Illinois State’s DJ Horn added 11 quick points midway through the half, cutting the Panther lead to 7 with under 9 minutes remaining in the half. The Redbirds managed to take the lead 28-26 with 4:51 remaining in the half following a 12-2 run. The Panthers trailed headed into halftime 37-30.
UNI shot 43% (12-28) from the field while the Redbirds made 50% (14-28) from the field. UNI finished the half with 13 points scored off Redbird turnovers and scored 20 points in the paint. Illinois State’s DJ Horn finished with 16 first half points going 6-11 from the field. Tywhon Pickfordled the Panthers with 9 first half points while Austin Phyfe grabbed a team high 3 rebounds.
Both teams started slow in the second half but the Panthers managed to go on an 8-0 run midway through the half to get within two at 47-45. Trae Berhow downed a three with 12:17 remaining to retake the lead and push the Panther run to 11-0. Both teams then traded leads but the Redbirds moved out to a 4-point lead with 2:59 remaining. The Panthers and Redbirds fouled down the stretch but it was Austin Phyfe who made the jumper in the final second to tie the game 70-70 to move to a 5-minute overtime.
Both teams scored 11 points in the 5-minute overtime, both going 4-6 from the field. UNI went 2-4 from the free throw line while the Redbirds went 2-2 at the line. The Panthers and Redbirds moved to double overtime, the first double overtime game for the Panthers since the 2016-17 season. UNI went on a 7-0 run late in the period and outscored the Redbirds 13-6 to take the game 94-87.
THE PANTHERS
- UNI shot 51% (35-69) from the field.
- Noah Carter finished with a team high 22 points going 8-12 from the field.
- Bowen Born finished with 21 points and 7 assists, both career highs.
- Austin Phyfe finished with 18 points and a team high 9 rebounds.
- UNI scored 32 points off Illinois State turnovers.
- UNI scored 48 points in the paint.
- UNI led for 22:32
THE REDBIRDS
- ILS shot 49% (33-67) from the field.
- DJ Horn scored a team high 34 points.
- Dusan Mahorcic finished with 20 points, going 8-9 from the field and 4-5 from the charity stripe and hauled in a team high 9 rebounds.
- ILS scored 34 points off the bench.
- ILS scored 36 points in the paint.
- ILS led for 23:40.
Friday’s Game
NORMAL, Illinois – The UNI men’s basketball team defeated the Redbirds of Illinois State 70-56 on Friday night, led by senior Trae Berhow’s15-point performance. The win marked head coach Ben Jacobson‘s 299thcareer victory.
Neither team opened the game shooting well, after four minutes of play UNI went 2-8 while the Redbirds went 3-7 from the field. The Panthers were able to get things going midway through the half, going on a 12-2 run to take a 23-14 lead with 7:43 reaming in the half.
The Panthers continued strung runs together through the end of the first half, and took a 34-25 lead into the break. The Panthers finished shooting 37.9% (11-29) from the field while making all 9 free throw attempts. The Redbirds shot 34.6% (9-26) from the field with 11 first half turnovers.
The Redbirds heated up to start the second half, starting the half 5-8 from the field and cutting the Panther lead to 3 with 12:47 remaining in the game. Both teams’ mad plays down the stretch but it was the Panthers gong on a 10-0 run with 7:26 remaining that sealed the win. The Panthers extended to lead to 17, the largest lead of the game, at 69-52 with 2:22 remaining in the game. The Panthers would hold off the Redbirds and picked up the 70-56 win.
The Panthers had four players in double digits for the third consecutive game. Trae Berhow led the way with 15 points while Austin Phyfe hauled in a team high 8 rebounds followed by Nate Hiese with 7.
THE PANTHERS
- The Panthers shot 42% (23-55) from the field.
- The Panthers made 86% (19-22) of their free throw attempts
- The Panthers scored 22 points off turnovers.
- The Panthers scored 36 points in the Paint.
- Trae Berhow led the team with 15 points
- Austin Phyfe hauled in a team high 8 rebounds.
- UNI held the lead for 33:40.
THE REDBIRDS
- The Redbirds shot 40% (20-50) from the field.
- The Redbirds made 69% (11-16) of their free throw attempts.
- The Redbirds scored 20 points off the bench.
- Dusan Mahorcic led the team with 18 points (7-10 FG-FGA) and hauled in a team high 8 rebounds.
- Redbirds led for 6:04.
