Late run gives UNI a win it can build on, 65-63 over Illinois State

CEDAR FALLS — Northern Iowa fought its way past Illinois State in men’s basketball Wednesday night at McLeod Center, 65-63.

With UNI trailing 53-49 with 7:17 to play, Michael Duax hit a left-wing 3 and followed it with an uncontested, go-ahead layup off a Cole Henry assist to spark what became a game-winning 10-2 scoring run.

Of the run’s five other points, three came after Duax corralled an offensive rebound and kicked out to Trey Campbell for the fifth of his six 3s in the game. Bowen Born then punctuated the run by dribbling past two Redbirds and dropping in a contested layup.

Illinois State (8-12, 3-6) got a chance to tie the game, trailing 64-61 with 14 seconds remaining, but Joe Petrakis’ 3-point attempt rimmed out and Luke Kasube’s lay-in as time expired wasn’t enough.

“We tried to make too much out of some plays,” Jacobson said. “It wasn’t quite there, but then we wanted to re-attack, and then they’re waiting for us. Defensively, that’s where they did a very good job of turning us over. I don’t know if there was a specific play. It just felt like one of those (games) where if we were going to get it done tonight we were going to have to make some plays. And some guys did.”

A 10-point lead 13 minutes into the game suggested an undramatic final 27 minutes for the Panthers, but 12 turnovers before the end of the first half led to 17 Redbirds points and set the table for the back-and-forth second half.

A buzzer-beating 3 from Campbell salvaged a three-point lead at halftime for UNI (10-9, 6-3). But less than 11 minutes into the second period, a balanced Illinois State offense — that saw four Redbirds reach double figures — had Panthers fans silenced.

“It’s a lot of recognitions and (assistant coach Seth Tuttle) kind of got into us at halftime, saying we had 12 turnovers at half,” Born said. “That was obviously an adjustment that we knew we needed to make, because that was basically where they were scoring all their points.”

Foul trouble was also an issue. Forward Tytan Anderson received his fourth foul with 13:42 left in the game. The Panthers sophomore checked back in just over three minutes later, only to foul out with 8:19 remaining.

Without Anderson, Jacobson deployed an atypical lineup in the game’s final minutes, with Duax at the four for Anderson and James Betz playing the final minutes at the five.

“I think two things. One, that (experience) can really help us as we go forward. Two, just how much better our team has gotten,” Jacobson said. “If Bowen or Tytan were out early in the first five, six, seven games I’m not quite sure what that would’ve looked like. Now, our team has gotten better. That’s fun. That gives us something to look forward to for the next two days here before we hit the road.”

Campbell finished with a game-high and career-high 20 points and was joined in double figures by Born, who finished with 11.

UNI visits Illinois-Chicago (9-11, 1-8) Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip at Credit Union 1 Arena (ESPN3).