UNI men’s basketball: Campbell posted career high in win over Redbirds

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI men’s basketball battled Illinois State’s rampage in the second half, riding the freshman guard with a hot hand Trey Campbell to victory as the Panthers beat the Redbirds 65-63 Wednesday night at the McLeod Center.

The Panthers have now won 9 straight games against Illinois State and swept the regular season from the Redbirds for the third straight season.

Illinois State challenged UNI with an effective interior defense, forcing the Panthers to attack from mid-range and beyond the arc. While the Redbirds attacked inside, the Panthers found a spark from afar as Campbell knocked down 4 3-pointers in the first half as part of a 14-point opening stretch. UNI led by as many as 10 points in the opening period, but the Redbirds tied the game at 30 in the final seconds of the half before Campbell sent the Panthers to the locker room with a narrow lead after a three-pointer at the buzzer. .

The Redbirds quickly attacked the UNI defense to start the second period, cutting into the Panther lead and eventually taking a 6-point advantage on a Seneca Knight dunk. After a sloppy first half with turnovers on both sides, UNI turned the ball over just 3 times in the second half and slowly chipped away at Illinois State’s lead. Michael Duax helped the Panthers get to the offensive end. Using a 14-6 run over the 5:43 mark midway through the period, the Panthers regained the lead as both teams grabbed every basket in the final minutes. UNI took a 3-point lead in the game’s final minute when the Panther defense stopped a potential game-tying 3-pointer by Joe Petrakis with 8 seconds to play and held on for a 2-point victory after a late Redbird layup.

Campbell finished the night with a career-high 20 points and six 3-pointers. Born in Bowen 11 points and 4 assists. Landon Wolf collected 9 points with a pair of three-pointers, as Michael Duax won by 8 points. James Betz posted with a 5 point game Cole Henry a total of 4 points and 7 rebounds.

PANTHER NOTES

• UNI narrowed its all-time series tie with Illinois State after Wednesday’s win, falling behind the Redbirds 45-44.
• The head coach Ben Jacobson picked up his 180th Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) game win on Wednesday. Jacobson is now 3 wins shy of passing former Creighton coach Dana Altman for second on the MVC all-time wins list in conference games only.
• The Panthers improve to 8-2 this season when leading at halftime and earn their first win of the year with 5 minutes to play.
• UNI has held opponents to under 70 points in 12 games this season and owns an 8-4 record in such contests. Panthers have won 7 games in a row, holding the opponent to less than 70 points.

NEXT

The Panthers hit the road this Saturday to face the UIC Flames for the first time as MVC opponents. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM CT at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. The match will be broadcast live ESPN3 and on the Panther Sports Radio Network.