The Northern Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Indiana State on Saturday by a score of 74-56 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The Panthers were led by senior center Jacob Hutson who finished the game with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Hutson got going early from deep, scoring a 3-point basket to make it 3-0 Panthers early.
The Panther offense continued to shine early. Tytan Anderson buried a corner three followed by baskets from Trey Campbell and Ben Schwieger to take a 13-5 lead.
Campbell took command of the offense, draining two free throws and a 3-pointer to extend the Panther’s lead to 20-9.
With under seven minutes left in the half, Schwieger made two free throws and a dunk to extend the Panther lead to 28-16.
Schwieger nailed another 3-pointer to close the half and propel the Panthers to a 38-26 lead.
Just like he started the game, Hutson drained a three to start the second half. A few minutes later, Anderson connected from long range to make it 43-29.
Approaching the 16-minute mark, The Sycamores went on a six-point run to cut the lead to eight. Hutson and Campbell responded with baskets to extend the lead to ten.
The Sycamores responded by going on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 50-47 with 11 minutes to go.
The Panthers were able to lock in on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Schwieger and Campbell connected from three to regain a marginal lead at 58-49.
At the five-minute mark, Schwieger slammed down his second dunk of the game to make it 64-50.
After the final media timeout, Anderson and Hutson connected on two-point baskets to make it a 68-54 lead.
The Panthers made their free throws towards the end, sealing the victory at 74-56. Northern Iowa held the Sycamores to just nine points in just under 11 minutes of game time to close out the game.
The Panthers improved to 13-8 and 7-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. That record is good enough for fourth place in the standings, which if the season ended today would give the Panthers a double bye in Arch Madness.
Big opportunities lay ahead for the Panthers. They travel to Des Moines to take on Drake tonight. The Bulldogs are ranked second in the conference and have an overall record of 18-2. On Sunday, they welcome the Bradley Braves to the McLeod Center who are ranked No. 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
