ST. LOUIS — UNI men’s basketball caught fire early and carried offensive momentum to the final horn as the Panthers defeated the Saint Louis Billikens in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
The Panthers improve to 20-11 on the season, while the Billikens fall to 23-12.
UNI led for the entirety of the opening half with an impressive showing from beyond the arc, sinking 11-of-22 three-point field goals while also defending the arc well for much of the period. While the Billikens centered their offense in the paint, the Panthers attacked from both mid and long range. Capitalizing off of 7 first half Saint Louis turnovers, UNI outscored the Billikens 10-2 off takeaways and 11-5 in fast breaks to take a 43-38 lead into halftime.
The Panthers attacked the paint in the second half with three well cut dunks from Noah Carter, Tywhon Pickford and Nate Heise. Saint Louis was able to cut UNI’s lead down to 4 with just over 14 minutes to play, but the Panther defense responded by holding the Billikens scoreless for the next 8 minutes. UNI built the lead to as many as 24 points off strong shooting performances by Trae Berhow and AJ Green. The Panthers ultimately scored 21 total points off Saint Louis’ 13 turnovers to secure the 12-point win.
AJ Green led UNI with a game-high 21 points off of 5 made three-point baskets, while Trae Berhow knocked down 6 shots from beyond the arc for an 18-point performance with a team-high 7 rebounds. Noah Carter notched 19 points in the win with a game-high 5 assists. Bowen Born scored 8 points off the bench, as Nate Heise notched 7 points and Tyhwon Pickford posted 5 points.
