The UNI men’s basketball team bounced back winning against George Mason, 73-65. The victory puts the Panthers at 6-2.

The Panthers could not miss in the opening minutes as they took an early 10-2 lead. The game went quiet after a 12-7 lead, and then Wyatt Lohaus drained two three-pointers. Lohaus finished the game with eight points.

The three-point shot started a 15-2 run for the 27-9 lead, which was the largest lead of the night. George Mason retaliated with an 11-2 run to get back into the game. Paul Jesperson capped-off the first half with a jumper to give the Panthers a 33-26 lead.

George Mason began the second half by scraping within two points of UNI. Matt Bohannon scored five straight to keep the Patriots at bay. UNI kept George Mason from coming any closer until about 5:45 remaining when the lead was cut down to 53-52. Bohannon draining another three-pointer to get some breathing room.

With two minutes left, Jesperson made a 9-2 run just on his own thanks to a three-pointer and free throws. The Panthers made all but two of their free throws to get back to a double-digit lead. George Mason managed another jumper with three seconds left, but it was too late for a miracle.

Neither team shot precisely in the face of tough defense. UNI shot 42.1 percent while George Mason shot 38.6 percent. George Mason also could not get it going behind the arc, shooting for 20.8 percent.

Three Panther players scored in the double-digits. Washpun and Jesperson led the team with 19 points each while Bohannon scored 14 points.

This game was a career-high for Jesperson as he also recorded his first double-double with 12 rebounds. This game also marks the fifth time this season that UNI scored 10 three-pointers in a game.

The Panthers go back on the road on Saturday to the University of New Mexico to play the Lobos at 8 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPN3.