UNI men's basketball opens Missouri Valley play with win at Bradley

PEORIA, Ill. — The UNI men's basketball team got off to a 1-0 start in Missouri Valley Conference play on Wednesday night, defeating Bradley University, 65-47.

The Panthers and Braves didn't do much the first 10 minutes before the Panthers took control of the game. Tied 17-17 with 7:12 left in the first half, the Panther offense ignited, adding 17 points in the final minutes to take a 34-24 lead into halftime.

The Panthers picked up right where the left off to start the second half. Trae Berhow opened with a wide-open 3-pointer and the Panthers continued to pour it on the rest of the way.

Justin Dahl made his presence known in the conference opener, going 3-for-3 in the paint and hauled in a team-high eight rebounds.

Isaiah Brown and Trae Berhow led the Panthers in scoring, both finishing with 14 points and shooting .500 from the field. Berhow did his damage from distance, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers while Brown shot 5 of 10 from the field a 2 of 4 from 3-point distance.

AJ Green continued his dominant play, finishing with 10 points and a team-high four assists. Luke McDonnell also recorded four assists while shooting 3 of 5 from the field for eight points and hauling in four offensive rebounds.

The Panthers host Southern Illinois on Saturday, at 7 p.m.