By Joel Wauters, UNI Athletics
DES MOINES, Iowa — The UNI men’s basketball team struggled to slow Drake’s three-point offense and limit turnovers on Wednesday night as the Panthers fell to the Bulldogs by a score of 66-52 inside the Knapp Center.
Northern Iowa looked to battle in the trenches and establish an effective offensive attack, but was held to just six second chance points despite pulling down ten offensive rebounds. UNI shot 44.7% from the field, while the Bulldogs shot an even 50%, including 62.5% from the point range (10-16).
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI brought an early defensive intensity to the opening minutes of the game with Tytan Anderson and Trey Campbell providing early buckets for the Panthers. Fighting to match Drake shot for shot, the Bulldogs began to open up a healthy lead thanks to 70% shooting from three-point range, knocking down seven-of-ten attempts from beyond the arc. Ben Schwieger would respond with a pair of three-point baskets of his own, with Cael Schmitt and Max Weisbrod hitting from range as well. Weisbrod’s lone three pointer of the half would pull the Panthers within four points with just over four minutes to go until halftime, but Drake, shooting 59.1% from the field, would stretch its lead back to double digits, taking a 36-24 lead over UNI into the break.
Northern Iowa opened the second half with back-to-back layups from Anderson and Weisbrod and would cut Drake’s lead down to nine points twice approaching the midpoint of the period. Despite Anderson pushing the pace inside with ten points in the final frame, the Bulldogs three-point shooting would continue to pace the home team however as Drake maintained its lead for the final 20 minutes with fouls mounting against the Panthers down the stretch while UNI was held scoreless for four of the final seven minutes.
Anderson finished the night with a team-high 16 points and five rebounds, with Campbell tallying ten points. Both Schmitt and Weisbrod posted seven points each, as Schwieger finished with six points and a team-high six assists.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI falls to 53-34 all-time against the Bulldogs and 2-10 vs. Drake in its last 12 matchups.
The Panthers were outscored 21-9 off turnovers in Wednesday’s loss.
Junior Max Weisbrod made his first start as Panther on Wednesday. Weisbrod, a Division II transfer from Northern Michigan, started 55 games with the Wildcats during the previous two years.
Tytan Anderson is now nine assists away from joining Seth Tuttle (2011-15), Eric Coleman (2004-08) and Ron Lemons (1975-79) as the fourth player in team history to record 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 200 assists in their UNI career.
Ben Schwieger is three points away from scoring his 500th career point. The Aurora, Illinois native previously scored 290 points in his two seasons at Loyola-Chicago (2022-24).