By Joel Wauters, UNI Athletics
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI men’s basketball team led for just one minute, 48 seconds on Saturday night, but stormed back from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Illinois State Redbirds by a score of 68-65 inside the McLeod Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
On a night where the Redbirds shot 11-of-27 from three-point range, Northern Iowa dominated in the paint and outscoring Illinois State by a 46-22 margin. The Panther offense shot an even 50% from the field in their come-from-behind victory, their 11th game this year shooting over 50%.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers faced a monster challenge early from the Redbirds, who sank eight three-point attempts in the first half on 14 attempts to build as much as a 14-point lead on UNI. Northern Iowa would gradually chip away as Will Hornseth helped establish the Panthers’ inside game, with Jacob Hutson and Cael Schmitt knocking down back-to-back three-point baskets on consecutive possessions to pull within single digits. Playing clean ball with only three first period fouls, Tytan Anderson and Hutson continued to push inside, contributing to 22 total paint points for the Panthers, who cut the Redbird lead to four at the halftime break, trailing 36-32.
Northern Iowa gradually slowed Illinois State’s three-point shooting efficiency in the second half, pulling within two points in the first five minutes of the period. UNI would continue to chip away at the Redbird lead in the paint, shooting 53.8% from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Ben Schwieger continued the Panther comeback with a critical three-point basket with just under four minutes to go, with Hutson pulling UNI within one point with a layup with 90 seconds to play. Holding Illinois State scoreless for the final three minutes, 35 seconds, Anderson gave the Panthers its first lead since the opening minutes of the game with a go-ahead layup with 65 seconds to go with Max Weisbrod sealing the win with a pair of free throws late.
Anderson led the way in the UNI comeback with a game-high 18 points on a season-best nine made baskets, along with eight rebounds. Trey Campbell tallied 12 points and four assists in the win with Hutson posting 11 points and five boards. Hornseth produced an efficient 11 points in nine minutes off the bench as Schwieger posted nine points and nine rebounds.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improves to 47-45 all-time against Illinois State with Saturday’s win, its 12th in the last 13 meetings. The Panthers have now swept the Redbirds in four of the previous five regular season series.
Tytan Anderson is now one assist 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. He is also seeking to become the 22nd player in MVC history to reach the milestone.
Will Hornseth continues to maintain a single-season shooting percentage of .712 on the season (57-of-80), currently on pace to set a new single-season program record.