The Northern Iowa men’s basketball team lost a heartbreaker in overtime against their rival the Drake Bulldogs 64-58.
Ben Schweiger brought the house down right from the jump with a spectacular dunk to open the scoring.
The game was a defensive battle early, as ten minutes in the score was only 12-11 Drake.
The Panthers trailed as much as eight points with only 13:26 remaining in the game. Trailing 45-42 just under the nine minute mark, Schweiger got to the rim and dunked the ball once again to make it a one point game.
Schweiger followed it up with a layup next possession to give the Panthers their first lead since it was 9-7.
The game was all tied up at 51-51 with just under two minutes. Drake guard Tavion Banks connected on a layup to regain the lead.
Down two points with twenty-one seconds remaining, Trey Campbell knocked down a clutch three to give the Panthers a 54-53 lead.
The Bulldogs had one last shot with seven seconds remaining. Bulldogs guard Bennett Stirtz attempted a game winning three and couldn’t connect. The rebound landed in the hands of Drake guard Mitch Mascari who attempted a three-pointer but was fouled on a questionable call.
Mascari needed to make three free-throws to win and two to send it to overtime. He missed the first but nailed the next two which sent the game to overtime.
Tytan Anderson regained the lead for the Panthers with a layup at 57-55. The Panthers found themselves down three with under thirty seconds remaining.
That’s when Bennett Stirtz stepped up and nailed a three pointer to put the game away. Drake holds on in overtime 64-58.
Tytan Anderson finished with 21 points. Jacob Hutson finished with 14 while Schweiger finished with 12.
The Panthers showed great fight against a phenomenal Valley team. The team proved they are more than capable of winning the Arch Madness tournament in early March. The Panthers fell to 19-10 and are third in the MVC with two games remaining. Drake clinched an outright conference regular season title with the win on Saturday.
The team honored players Anderson, Hutson, and Cael Schmidt as a part of the senior day festivities.
The Panthers are back in action on Feb. 26, against the UIC Flames. Tip Off is at 6:00 p.m. in the McLeod Center. The game can also be found on ESPN+.
