Panther men's basketball drops home contest to Toledo

Tuesday, December 6

Cedar Falls, Iowa

7:30 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

3-5,1-1MVC

Toledo

6-3,0-0MAC

Toledo

UNI

Panther men's basketball drops home contest to Toledo

12/6/2022 10:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score FINAL STATS Photo Gallery

UNI shoots 53% from the field in second half, but struggles to keep up with defending MAC champion

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball came out shooting hot in the second half, but was unable to catch up Toledo's offensive unit as the Panthers fell to the Rockets 83-75 on Tuesday night inside the McLeod Center in non-conference play.

The Panthers struggled to defend the three-point line against Toledo in the opening half, giving up 8 three-point baskets to the Rockets on 19 attempts in the first 20 minutes of play. Using a 12-0 run in just under three minutes however, UNI closed the gap and tied the game at 28 before the Rockets retook the lead with their own 12-0 run. Having difficulty in moving the ball, the Panthers went into the halftime break trailing 40-31.

Out of the locker room, UNI hit 6 of its first 7 shots of the second stanza and quickly closed the gap, briefly taking a one-point lead at 45-44, four minutes into the period. Establishing a stronger inside presence for the reminder of the game, the Panthers stayed within striking distance of the Rockets in single-digit deficits, hitting 53.3% of their shots from the field. UNI's hot shooting started to cool off in the final minutes however as Toledo continued to shoot over 50% from the floor, despite slowing down the Rockets' three-point efficiency.

Bowen Born finished the night with his fourth consecutive game of 22+ points with a 27-point performance on 8-of-14 shooting (57.1%) and 4 made three-point field goals. Trey Campbell scored a career-high 15 points while shooting 60% from the field, as Tytan Anderson notched his MVC-leading fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Duax tallied 9 points with a pair of rebounds and 3 steals, while Cole Henry scored 4 points in his first start of the season.

PANTHER NOTES

UNI is 1-1 all-time against Toledo following Tuesday's matchup. The Panthers won the first ever meeting against the Rockets back in 2012 at home in an 84-81 win.
The Panthers are 1-1 against the Mid-American Conference this season, after beating Northern Illinois 10 days ago at home.
Bowen Born jumps to 84th on UNI's all-time scoring this after his 27-point game against the Rockets, passing Darrell Jesse (1966-69) and Don Holland (1953-56).
After making 4 three-pointers against Toledo, Born is 2 three-point baskets away from 100 on his career.
Cole Henry is now 7 points shy of 100 in his career after Tuesday's loss to the Rockets.

UP NEXT
UNI returns to action on Friday night as the Panthers host the Cowboys of McNeese State (2-6). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center. The game will be broadcast live on the ESPN+ and be available on the Panther Sports Radio Network.