A very strong finish helped the UNI men’s basketball team as they came out on top against the Wichita State Shockers, 53-50. The last time these two teams met, the Shockers won in Cedar Falls, 74-55. This victory increased UNI’s record to 16-11 of the season.

While one streak continued,  another was broken. Not only did the Panthers earn their sixth straight win, they also broke the Shockers’ 43-game winning-streak at home.

The game started well for each team with constant buckets from both ends of the court. The Panthers trailed until just nine minutes left to play in the first half when they took their first lead of the game, 22-21.

Two successful free throws by Paul Jesperson were the start to a Panther 12-0 run during the last 3:36 left in the half.

Klint Carlson drained a three with less than a minute left to give the Panthers a 38-27 lead going into halftime.

The Panthers momentum slowed coming out of halftime, allowing the Shockers to bring the score to a tie, 44-44, with 11:32 remaining in the game.

Both teams were in a scoring drought for almost five minutes until Wyatt Lohaus made a jumper to take back the lead, 46-44.

The Panthers gained some much-needed momentum. Matt Bohannon drained a three to increase the Panther lead to 51-44.

Wichita State cut down the lead to 53-50 with 30 seconds remaining in the game. The Shockers had one last chance to send the game in overtime , but Conner Frankamp missed the three-point buzzer beater.

Defense was the name of the game in the second half. UNI’s shooting average dropped during the second half of the game, going from 54.2 percent to 29.2 percent. The second half did not only ice the Panthers, but the Shockers as well, shooting 35 percent in the first and 26 percent in the second.

Carlson led the Panthers with 12 points, Wyatt Lohaus was second as he put up 11 and  Bohannon finished 3-5 from deep range for nine points.

UNI will travel to Chicago to play Loyola University on Wednesday as they look to increase their winning streak to seven.