NORMAL, Illinois – The UNI men’s basketball team defeated the Redbirds of Illinois State 70-56 on Friday night, led by senior Trae Berhow’s 15-point performance. The win marked head coach Ben Jacobson’s 299th career victory.
Neither team opened the game shooting well, after four minutes of play UNI went 2-8 while the Redbirds went 3-7 from the field. The Panthers were able to get things going midway through the half, going on a 12-2 run to take a 23-14 lead with 7:43 reaming in the half.
The Panthers continued strung runs together through the end of the first half, and took a 34-25 lead into the break. The Panthers finished shooting 37.9% (11-29) from the field while making all 9 free throw attempts. The Redbirds shot 34.6% (9-26) from the field with 11 first half turnovers.
The Redbirds heated up to start the second half, starting the half 5-8 from the field and cutting the Panther lead to 3 with 12:47 remaining in the game. Both teams’ mad plays down the stretch but it was the Panthers gong on a 10-0 run with 7:26 remaining that sealed the win. The Panthers extended to lead to 17, the largest lead of the game, at 69-52 with 2:22 remaining in the game. The Panthers would hold off the Redbirds and picked up the 70-56 win.
The Panthers had four players in double digits for the third consecutive game. Trae Berhow led the way with 15 points while Austin Phyfe hauled in a team high 8 rebounds followed by Nate Hiese with 7.
The Panthers and Redbirds will be back in action on Saturday night. The two teams will take the court at 5 pm at Redbird Arena.
