Coming off of a 74-62 victory from Saturday’s game against Southern Illinois, the UNI men’s basketball headed into battle for game two on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers played from behind for much of the game and trailed by 13 points at halftime, but an improved second half saw them claw back into the contest.

The Panthers struggled shooting in all three major categories in the first half of the game. They were held to 40% from the field, only made one three-pointer and only made one free throw out of eight attempts in the first half. The second half flipped the script for UNI, as they shot nearly 57% from the field, which helped them get back into the game. They hit six threes in the second half, and improved the free throw percentage to 68% in the second half. Although the Panthers outscored Southern in the second half of the game by ten points, they still couldn’t overcome the hole they had dug in the first half.

Four Panthers were in double figures for the game, with freshman Bowen Born leading the way with 16 points. Senior Trae Berhow and freshman Nate Heise followed Born with 13 points while sophomore Noah Carter totaled with 11. True freshman Tytan Anderson, who made his collegiate debut in the previous game, played well again for UNI. He scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and had five steals in 23 minutes off the bench.

Southern Illinois was led by sophomore Lance Jones, who scored 27 points and made seven out of 11 three-pointers. He also shot 10-15 overall from the field and had six assists and five rebounds. SIU as a team made half of their three-point attempts, knocking down 15 out of 30 from beyond the arc.

The loss moves UNI to an overall record of 5-11 and 3-7 in Missouri Valley Conference play. They are set to play again this coming weekend on Feb. 6 and 7 against Indiana State, who are 7-5 in the conference and hold a 10-7 record overall. Both games will be played at the McLeod Center.