The men’s basketball team won their fourth game in a row after a close 64-61 victory over Bradley University but then fell on the road to Wichita State, 73-44.

In their game against Bradley, Jeremy Morgan opened the game with 2 three-pointers and assisted Bennett Koch, who found the open lane and threw it down hard with a dunk.

With just over six minutes to play in the first half, Jordan Ashton connected from downtown to put the Panthers up 23-20. As halftime approached, Koch drove inside and scored with an easy layup. He was then sent to the foul line twice and knocked down all four of his free throw attempts.

The Panthers finished the half shooting 44 percent compared to Bradley’s 48 percent. Morgan had five defensive rebounds, two assists and 11 points. Koch had a rebound, steal, assist and dropped 10 points with just 14 minutes played.

In the second half, the Panthers took advantage of Bradley’s 32 percent shooting, 0-7 from downtown and 8-25 overall. Morgan and Koch got the scoring started very quickly after the break.

Morgan opened with a successful mid-range jump shot, then Koch came in dunking the ball hard to cut the Brave’s lead to just one point. After another dunk by Koch to tie the score at 38-38, Juwan McCloud went coast to coast after stealing the ball and scoring on the fast break layup.

With 16 minutes remaining in the second half, Ashton grabbed the offensive rebound, quickly got outside and knocked down the three-ball, giving the Panthers a 43-38 lead. After this shot, UNI’s defense was able to hold Bradley’s offense to only seven points in just under 10 minutes.

As Bradley’s scoring drought continued, UNI took a 12-point lead after Ashton connected from deep again. Free throws kept Bradley alive throughout the contest and even got them close to stealing the lead during the final minutes of play.

The Panthers were getting to the line as well. Koch was sent to the line twice and made three of his four free throw attempts, which would force Bradley to make a three with nine seconds left. With two seconds left Darrell Brown put it up but missed and UNI would come out on top 64-61.

The team finished with 24 rebounds, 14 assists, eight turnovers, six steals and a block. UNI put up 28 points in the paint, four points off fast breaks and 12 points off of turnovers.

A tough 73-44 loss occured in Wichita, Kansas as 10,506 fans saw the Panthers fall to the Shockers. The Panthers knew this would be a tough match as Wichita State is currently 25-4 (15-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference).

It was an off night for the Panthers and without an offensive presence, the Shockers were able to run away with the game.

UNI finished the night shooting 28 percent from the field and 21 percent from three. They also made 12 of their 17 free throw attempts. The Shockers were in control of the glass, as they recorded 48 rebounds to UNI’s 23.

Shaking off the loss in Kansas, UNI will have one more road game against Indiana State on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Then they will play their last regular season game against Illinois State at home on Feb. 25.