CARBONDALE, Illinois – The UNI men’s basketball team fell to the Salukis of Southern Illinois 71-68 on Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers shot 40.7% (11-27) from the field in the first half but trailed the Salukis 37-24 after 20 minutes of play. UNI struggled from beyond the arc in the first half going 1-10 from distance with the lone three pointer coming from Austin Phyfe, his fifth three of the season. UNI went 1-8 from the free throw line and committed 10 first half turnovers.
The Panthers managed to outscore the Salukis in the second half 44-34 but it wasn’t enough to pull the team out of their deficit. Bowen Born added 14 second half points going 3-4 from beyond the arc while knocking down 5 of his 7 free throw attempts.
Born ended the night with a team high 16 points followed by Nate Heise and Trae Berhow who each finished with 13 points. Berhow hauled in a team high 6 rebounds while freshman Tytan Anderson grabbed 5 boards. Anderson’s first two games of the season came this weekend against the Salukis. The Freshman added 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists.
The Panthers shot 49.1% from the field but struggled from distance, going 7-25 from beyond the arc and went 9-21 from the free throw line.
The Panthers (5-11, 3-7 MVC) will return to the McLeod Center on Feb. 6-7 for a series with Indiana State.
