The UNI men’s basketball team extended their win streak to four wins with victories over Belmont and Southern Illinois last week. On top of the solid performance, head coach Ben Jacobson secured his 188th win against Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) opponents, passing Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Henry P. Iba (Oklahoma State) as the league’s all-time wins leader.
The Panthers started the week on the road in Nashville, Tenn. as UNI took on the Belmont Bruins. In a back-and-forth game, UNI secured their first ever win against the Bruins in their four-game history.
The first half of the game saw many lead changes in an offensive outbreak by both teams. The Panthers led by as many as eight points at one time in the first, but Belmont continued to chip away at the lead, and entered the break up by one point. UNI was led by Nate Heise with 10 points and 6 rebounds.
The second half of the game continued in the same fashion for the Panthers, while their defense stepped up big down the stretch. UNI regained the lead early in the second half and never looked back, fending off the Bruins attempts at a comeback. The Panthers led by as many as 14 points and left Music City victorious to the tune of an 11-point win, 83-72.
Heise continued his hot start finishing with his third double-double on the season, attributing 20 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Trey Campbell added 15 points and five assists, while Bowen Born and Tytan Anderson each added 13 points.
Fresh off of their road victory, UNI took on Southern Illinois, led by Xavier Johnson’s 23.2 points per game (3rd in NCAA) at home over the weekend. Following the tip off, it was a defensive slugout for the first 10 minutes of the game with neither side getting their offense going. The Panthers would lead by as many as six points in the first half but ultimately couldn’t produce enough offense to hold onto the lead. Despite holding the nation’s third-leading scorer to zero points in the first half, UNI trailed by one, 30-29 at the break.
The second half continued the defensive mindset from both teams, with little offense being produced. In a game that presented 14 lead changes, UNI regained the lead at the five minute mark on a 3-pointer from Born. The Panthers never looked back from that point on, in spite of Johnson’s heroic efforts at the end of the game, draining a pair of three’s. UNI held on to a four-point victory, 61-57.
Born finished with a team-high 16 points, while Heise added 15 points, eight rebounds, and a pair of crucial steals. Anderson finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
Saturday’s game brought a loud crowd of Panther fans into the McLeod Center — and an atmosphere that the players could feel down on the court.
“They were amazing. We love our fans and that energy, it drives us and it fuels us,” Anderson said after the game.
Born added, “Having an arena like ours, it’s really fun to play in. It’s the perfect size in terms of people, it can get really loud in there.”
“It’s great, too, looking over and seeing a lot of people that just have supported you throughout your entire time here. The longer you’re here the more you get to know some of those people, and it’s great to look over and hear them encouraging you,” he said.
The Panthers have 11 more conference games before the Arch Madness Tournament, and Born said that the team has found its groove over the past few weeks.
“It feels really special, it feels like we’re really playing much better team defense. We’re covering up for each other, we’re really helping each other,” he said. “And I feel like that’s been the biggest stride that we’ve made over the past couple of weeks. Even in our practices and stuff it just feels like we’re playing much better as a team. Now we just have to keep it going.”
