Panther men’s basketball took on the likes of Indiana State University as well as Valparaiso University this past week, defeating the Sycamores and falling at the hands of the Crusaders.

Going into the first contest last Wednesday, the Panthers were well aware of the challenge facing them. “Jordan Barnes is one of the top handful of guys in our league,” said head coach Ben Jacobson. “Tyreke Key has been terrific for them as a sophomore.”

Barnes is Indiana State’s leading scorer, averaging 17.4 points per game. Key, the team’s second leading scorer, was putting up an average of 15.7 points per contest.

The highly talented pair were held to a total of 22 points.

Meanwhile, Spencer Haldeman, UNI’s talented backup point guard, netted a total of 21 points. Haldeman was 7-13 from the field and 4-8 from three. He also landed one of the top plays of the week according to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Twitter page, dishing a no-look pass to teammate Tywhon Pickford down low for an easy bucket.

Pickford was the second leading scorer for the Panthers, who dropped 12 points along with grabbing eight rebounds. Wyatt Lohaus followed with 10 points in the 69-64 win for the men.

Following the win, the purple and gold headed east to take on Valparaiso, with whom they are currently tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference with a record of 5-1 and an overall record of 12-7.

Again, the Panthers had their hands quite full, facing a team that had already established they were willing to spread the ball around. Four of their five starters currently average in double figures.

Ryan Fazekas, the Crusader’s leading scorer, did not participate in the contest. However, the other three scorers tallied 48 of the squad’s 75 points, scoring at will on the Panthers.

For UNI, AJ Green led in scoring with 25 points on 7-15 shooting. The young guard also added 10 points from the free throw line, shooting 100 percent from the charity stripe. Luke McDonnell also scored 13 points and five rebounds for the cats.

Up next, the Panther men will take on Southern Illinois on Wednesday, Jan. 23 in Carbondale, Ill. at 7 p.m., as well as the University of Evansville in the McLeod Center, Saturday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.