Missouri Valley Conference play continued for the UNI Panthers over the weekend, as they traveled down to Carbondale, Ill. for a two game matchup with the Southern Illinois Salukis. The Panthers, coming off of a 10-point victory over Division III Coe College last Monday, came into the matchup with SIU with a 2-6 record in the MVC and 4-10 overall, and Southern Illinois came into Saturday’s game with a 1-5 record in league play and 7-5 overall. Both teams have had rough starts in Valley play and were looking to get back into the thick of the standings with the two game, Saturday-Sunday slate. In game one, the Panthers came away victorious with a 74-62 victory.

The first and second halves of the game were two very different stories. The first half saw the Salukis shoot 48% from the field and hit four three-pointers, while the visiting Panthers only hit 10-30 shots, and only one made three. Despite the drastic differences in shooting percentages, the halftime score was only a slim 30-27 margin for Southern.

The final 20 minutes saw the game completely flip in favor of the Panthers. They hit 18-26 shots in the second half, good enough for a blistering 69% from the field and hit four of eight shots from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the hosts saw their shooting go cold. A stout Panther defensive effort in the second held Southern to only 37% from the field and two of ten from the three-point line. The Salukis also struggled mightily from the foul line, as they made only 48% of their free-throw attempts, leaving 13 points at the line.

Three Panthers scored in double figures for the contest. Sophomore Noah Carter led the way with 21 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Freshman Bowen Born followed with 17 points and senior Trae Berhow put in 16 with seven rebounds. Junior Austin Phyfe grabbed 13 rebounds and put in seven points of his own. True freshman Tytan Anderson played 15 minutes in his first ever collegiate game, coming off surgery and rehab to start his UNI career. He scored six points and had two steals and a blocked shot.

Northern Iowa dominated with 42 points in the paint, in contrast to Southern’s 28. There were 13 lead changes in the game, with the contest being tied six different times.

The win moved UNI to 3-6 in league play and dropped SIU to 1-6 and last place overall in the conference. The Panthers now sit at 5-10 on the year with the Salukis at 7-6. The two teams will square off again on Sunday, Jan. 31 at 5 p.m.