The UNI men’s basketball team has continued their winning ways as the Panthers have taken down the Missouri State Bears and the Evansville Aces in the past week to improve their record to 19-3 on the season, remaining undefeated at home.

As Missouri State rolled into Cedar Falls, the Bears came out ready to play as they went back and forth with the Panthers throughout the first ten minutes of play, bringing the score to 23-21 with the Panthers leading the game. Following a Trae Berhow three-pointer, the Panthers went on a hot streak in the final ten minutes, going into halftime with a 51-31 lead thanks to nine first-half turnovers.

“I thought tonight was maybe as good of a night as we’ve had in terms of handling some of the traps,” said head coach Ben Jacobson.

The Panthers started off the second half shooting a high percentage from behind the arc to keep extending the Panther lead.

AJ Green led the way for the Panthers with 27 points, 8-8 on free throws and six rebounds. All five UNI starters hit double digits in points and the team shot 53 percent from three-point range to propel the Panthers to the 95-66 win.

Isaiah Brown finished with 16 points and nine assists. He attributed his success to his teammates.

“It’s easy to get assists when you got people like this on your team like this. Trae, Phyfe, Spence, you know, when they’re open you can almost count it. I was just turning down good looks for great looks,” Brown said.

Three days later, the Panthers traveled out to Evansville, Ind., in a battle with the Evansville Aces. The Panthers started out the first half giving away eight turnovers and grabbing eight steals. Freshman Noah Carter led the first-half scoring with eight points. The Panther defense held the Aces to just 26 percent shooting, grabbing 16 points as UNI took a 30-16 point lead into halftime.

The Panthers seemed to be facing a whole new team in the second half as Evansville opened up hitting their first eight attempts, bringing the Panther lead to four points, although UNI was able to maintain their lead throughout the rest of the game. The Aces posted 52 points in the second half, compared to the Panthers’ 50 as UNI grabbed their 19th win on the season, advancing to 8-2 in conference play.

The Panthers will make the trip to take on Valparaiso on Feb. 5 with a 7 p.m. tip-off time, followed by a return home to host the Drake Bulldogs on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m.