The Panther men’s basketball team hosted the Illinois State University Redbirds on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls.

UNI squared up against a Missouri Valley Conference foe that came to town ranked second in the conference. The defensive and offensive play of the Panthers was in sync as they defeated the Redbirds, 77-64.

The win came in large part due to the high accuracy of three-point shooting, in which the Panthers hit 16 of 31 attempts from downtown. Trae Berhow lead UNI with 20 points, shooting five-for-eight from three-point range.

Spencer Haldeman added 16 along with three baskets from beyond the arc, as AJ Green scored 13 points and Isaiah Brown contributed ten points. Shandon Goldman was able to score two buckets from long range in the win as well.

“It was comforting,” said Berhow after the win describing the team’s overall play. “It shows the amount of work we have put in.”

Berhow fought for six rebounds, five of which came on the defensive end of the floor.

The Panther defense was also able to shutdown Milik Yarbrough, one of Illinois State’s top players, with him only scoring five points in 19 minutes with five turnovers.

After a tough loss at Drake the weekend prior, head coach Ben Jacobson was pleased with his team’s performance.

“The response of our team to come out and put on a performance like this was great,” he said. “Without it we’d probably lose again.”

Next up for the Panthers will be the Missouri State Bears on Wednesday, Feb. 20, on the road in Springfield. UNI will be back in the McLeod Center on Saturday, Feb. 23, as they host the Crusaders of Valparaiso University.