UNI men’s basketball picks up MVC win at home

CEDAR FALLS — A scoring outburst that book ended the first and second halves sent Northern Iowa past Southern Illinois is an MVC men’s basketball game at McLeod Center Sunday afternoon, 78-67.

Before its game-winning scoring run, UNI (8-5, 2-0) didn’t get its first lead of the game until a Ben Schwieger 3-pointer made it 36-34 with 59 seconds left in the first half.

Schwieger’s 3 was part of what became a 13-0 run to end the first half and a lead that wasn’t relinquished.

Leon Bond began the scoring with a pair of free throws and a driving layup finished through multiple SIU (5-8, 0-2) defenders. Tytan Anderson followed with an offensive rebound and putback layup before Schwieger’s 3, and after a second Bond layup, Anderson capped the half with a driving layup of his own four seconds ahead of the buzzer.

“Where we have got better is really attacking,” UNI Coach Ben Jacobson said. “For a while the guys were doing too good (of) a job in the way of trying to (drive and) pass it to somebody. Right now the guy with the ball is really attacking and he’s going to attack until somebody stops him.”

After halftime, UNI extended its run to 18-0 with a Bond layup and Jacob Hutson 3. The Salukis then ended their nearly eight-minute long scoring drought with Sheriden Sharp’s layup with 17:48 to play.

“It started with our defense. We got a lot of stops towards the end of the (first) half, which allowed us to push it out in transition, get downhill and attack them when their defense wasn’t set,” UNI center Jacob Hutson said. “Going into the game we really wanted to be in the gaps and make them make tough shots. We weren’t doing that at the start of the first half.”

Leading 43-36 after Sharp’s layup, UNI’s offense began to score in transition and increased the run up to 34-6 when Anderson scored on a fastbreak layup with 13:27 to play for a 59-40 lead.

As the Panthers extended their lead to as many as 27, Trey Campbell scored all eight of his points in the second half, Anderson reached double figures, as did Max Weisbrod — who finished with 10 points.

“In all of it (he’s improved),” Jacobson said of Weisbrod. “Defensively we saw him cut some guys off. And, look, it takes some time. (It’s) different for everybody. (Max) is starting to get more comfortable. He’s a good basketball player. He’s that guy (if) you’re picking teams down at the (YMCA) he’s getting picked early.”

Hutson led UNI with 20 points, finishing 7 of10 from the field, while Anderson finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

The win was the Panthers’ fifth in their last six games and the 10th time in 13 games this season shooting 48-percent or better from the field.

“The thing I like the most is the feel around the team,” Jacobson said. “They really look out for each other. They really pass the ball well to each other. That mentality, mindset is really good with this team.”

UNI returns to action Wednesday at home against Belmont (9-4, 1-1). Tip-off is at 8pm (ESPN+).