VALPARAISO, Ind. — UNI men’s basketball forced overtime but was unable to extend the game on the final shot as the Panthers fell to Valparaiso 83-80 on Wednesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
The Panthers drop to 9-8 on the season and 5-2 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play, while the Beacons improve to 9-10, and 2-5 in MVC action.
UNI opened the game with a rousing start as Bowen Born knocked down a three-point shot in his first start of the season. Valparaiso came out shooting strong in the opening minutes to keep pace with the Panther offense before UNI began to find a groove. The Panthers capitalized early off of Beacon turnovers, scoring 22 first half points off of Valparaiso giveaways, helping UNI carry a 39-34 lead into halftime.
Noah Carter dominated the second half for the Panthers scoring 20 points in the second frame to pace UNI with six baskets from beyond the arc against a surging Beacon offense. Valparaiso would take the lead and go up by as many as 7 points with 1:31 to play in regulation before the Panthers tied the game with 9 seconds remaining on a Nate Heise layup off his own missed shot. In overtime, UNI would take a 4-point lead after an Austin Phyfe hook shot before Valparaiso pulled ahead by 3 points in the final minute to hand UNI the tough road loss.
Carter led the Panthers with a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds, as well as a team-high 5 assists for his third career double-double. Trae Berhow scored 14 points with 4 made three-point field goals in the loss, as Bowen Born recorded 11 points. Heise notched 9 points and 6 rebounds, as Phyfe recorded 7 points and 4 rebounds.
