The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team started the season out strong with a five-game winning streak. One of those wins was against No.1 North Carolina, the biggest victory since defeating Kansas in the 2010 March Madness Tournament.

Wes Washpun led the team from a 50-34 deficit to a 71-67 victory. Coach Jacobson then grabbed his 200th win of his career in an 83-63 trouncing of Dubuque. On the road, the Panthers had no trouble with North Dakota in a 97-51 blowout victory, thanks to twelve three-pointers.

The Panthers came back to the McLeod Center on Monday and defeated the University of North Texas, 93-70. The first half was a tug-of-war, and neither team gained more than a five-point lead. A Matt Bohannon three-pointer brought the Panthers up 13-8, but the Mean Green quickly erased the lead.

There were five ties and 10 lead changes until North Texas gained the lead with six minutes left and kept it for the remainder of the half. Washpun completed a three-point play to bring the first half to a close with the Panthers down, 43-41. The Mean Green were on point as they made nearly 70 percent of their shots while keeping UNI to 50 percent shooting.

The second half, however, was a completely different story. North Texas gained a 49-46 lead after the first three minutes, but that was there last lead of the night. The Panthers turned it up for a 20-4 scoring run for a 66-53 lead. The lead was cut to 67-59 when the Panthers kicked it into overdrive.

Efficient shooting and great defense made sure North Texas did not come within 10 points for the rest of the game. The Panthers made all but two shots in the last nine minutes and finished the second half with 61 percent of their shots falling in their favor.

UNI was led by sophomore Bennet Koch, who scored a career-high 18 points while going 8-10 on the free throw line. Five other Panthers scored over 10 points.

The Panthers go on the road on Saturday to Virginia to take on the Richmond Spiders at 5 p.m.