The UNI men’s basketball went up against St. Bonaventure at home on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Coming off of a good win against Towson, the Panthers were looking to keep the momentum going in the final game before conference play. By the end of the game, the Panthers were able to defeat the Bonnies. 

The Panthers got off to a great start against St. Bonaventure. When the Bonnies were up 6-3, the Panthers went on a 13-0 run. The run started with a 3-pointer from James Betz and ended with a three point basket by Tytan Anderson. This gave the Panthers an early 16-6 lead. St. Bonaventure did not back down, but they were never able to get the lead the rest of the first half. At the break, the Panthers were ahead 28-22. Anderson had a great first half with 12 points and eight rebounds, nearly having a first half double-double.

In the second half the Panthers looked to grow on the narrow lead they put together in the first half, but they had a rough time doing that. Halfway through the second half the Panthers led by just two points, 42-40. Only a couple minutes later, the score was 48-45 in favor of the Panthers and they finished strong down the stretch, scoring 14 points in the final six minutes compared to St. Bonaventure’s seven. In the final stretch it was Michael Duax and Anderson who did most of the work. They combined for 12 of the final 14 points for the Panthers. The great finish gave the Panthers their second victory in a row, 62-52.

The Panthers were led by a career day from Anderson. He had a career-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds to go along with it. Bowen Born pitched in 14 points, Cole Henry had nine and Duax had seven.

After the game, Coach Ben Jacobson talked about how they had struggled to make plays late in games for a while, but said, “Now we have done it in back-to-back games,” referencing their victory against Towson and the win against St. Bonaventure. The Panthers are finally catching their stride with conference play right around the corner. They will open conference play on Dec. 28 when they host Missouri State.