By Joel Wauters, UNI Athletics
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI men’s basketball team tied a home record thanks to a stellar three-point shooting exhibition on Tuesday as the Panthers raced past Indiana State with an 88-73 win inside the McLeod Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Battling the league’s leader in made three-point baskets, Northern Iowa shot 61.9% from beyond the arc, tying a team percentage record for a home game as four Panther starters cracked double-digit scoring figures. UNI has now won a season-high four games with just five contests remaining in the regular season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI opened its midweek matchup with the Sycamores with an early back-and-forth battle as both teams traded three-point baskets. Max Weisbrod would heat up from beyond the arc with his first three shot attempts of the night falling from three-point range, while Kyle Pock and Trey Campbell also helped knock down shots from range as part of a stretch of five consecutive made baskets from deep. Tytan Anderson powered his way inside the paint for a dominant first half with 15 points, going six-for-six from the field as the Panthers shot 63% from the field and outrebounded Indiana State by a 13-8 margin to take a 50-38 lead into the locker room.
Northern Iowa faced early foul trouble in the second half as the Sycamores cut the Panthers lead down to single digits with a 9-0 scoring run, and down to five points on a 14-3 run. UNI’s shooting would pick back up in the back half of the second period as Ben Schwieger and Campbell resumed the Panthers’ three-point efficiency, with Jacob Hutson and Anderson pushing the pace inside, extending the lead to as many as 22 points. The Panthers finished the second half shooting 52% from the field while holding Indiana State scoreless for a key four minute stretch in the 15-point win.
Anderson finished the night with a game-high 22 points and five rebounds with a pair of blocks, while Campbell tallied 18 points with four made three pointers and six rebounds. Weisbrod and Hutson posted 13 points each with Weisbrod knocking down three triples and Hutson pulling down a team-high seven boards. Schwieger and Pock also finished with nine points each, with each making three baskets from range.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 33-37 all-time against Indiana State, completing its first regular season sweep of the Sycamores since the 2021-22 season.
- The Panthers improve to 13-2 at home this season, the second-best home record in the MVC this season only to Drake (12-1).
- UNI is now 15-0 on the year when leading at halftime, as well as 15-0 when leading with five minutes to play in regulation.
- Northern Iowa’s 50 points in the first half were the most scored against a conference opponent this season, and second-most in any half this year after scoring 56 against both Northern Illinois and Montana in one half.
- UNI’s 61.9% three-point shooting clip tied a single-game home record, matching the Panthers’ performance against Wartburg (Nov. 10, 2013) and Missouri State (Jan. 18, 2014)
- The Panthers improve to 94-12 (.886) when scoring 80+ points under head coach Ben Jacobson, winning 31 of their last 36 games when doing so.
- Tytan Anderson became the fourth player in program history and 22nd player in MVC history to record 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 200 assists in their UNI career on Tuesday night. Other Panthers to reach this milestone include Seth Tuttle (2011-15), Eric Coleman (2004-08) and Ron Lemons (1975-79).
- Anderson cracked UNI’s top-20 all-time list in scoring with his 1,247th point, moving to 18th all-time in team history ahead of Pete Spoden (1959-64), Trae Berhow (2018-22) and Grant Stout (2003-07).
- Tuesday marked Anderson’s eighth career game and third contest this year when surpassing 20 points. UNI is 12-4 when Anderson scores at least 15 points this season.
- Will Hornseth continues to maintain a single-season shooting percentage of .702 on the season (59-of-84), currently on pace to set a new single-season program record.