CHICAGO, Illinois – The UNI men’s basketball team fell to the Ramblers 72-57 on Saturday night. The Panthers now fall to 3-9 on the season and 2-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The key matchup of the night was with All-MVC big men Austin Phyfe and Cameron Krutwig. Austin Phyfe finished the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds while hole Krutwig to 8 points and 2 rebounds.
The Panthers led by 7 with 4:03 remaining the first half before a scoring drought left the Panthers with a 1-point lead at the break. The Panthers went 12-27 from the field with 2 made threes in the opening 20 minutes. The Panther defense held the Ramblers to 11-33 from the field and 2-13 from beyond the arc. UNI led the first half for just over 14 minutes.
Phyfe dropped a three pointer to open the second half, giving the Panthers a 32-28 lead with 19:45 on the clock. The Ramblers went on a 12-2 run with 8 minutes remaining in the game to take a 57-49 lead. The Ramblers extended the lead to as many as 18 in the final minutes to clinch the win.
UNI went 24-55 (43.6%) from the field while going 5-19 from beyond the arc. The Ramblers went 28-62 (45.2%) with 6 made threes. The Panthers hauled in 38 rebounds with 14 offensive rebounds and held the Ramblers to just 29 rebounds. The Panthers committed 18 turnovers, a new season high, which the Ramblers took advantage of to score 30 points.
The Panthers will be back in Gentile Arena on Sunday at 5 PM for the second of the series.
