Panther men's basketball battles Indiana State in final road game

UNI men's basketball at Indiana State

6 p.m. CT | Feb. 23
Terre Haute, Ind. | Hulman Center (9,000)
ESPN+ (Scott Warmann: Play-by-Play / Rich Zvosec: Analyst)
1540 KXEL: Panther Sports Radio Network (Gary Rima: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball opens the final week of the 2021-22 regular season on Wednesday night as the Panthers visit the Sycamores of Indiana State University in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play at the Hulman Center in southern Indiana.

The Panthers hit the road for the final road game of the year following an impressive 95-75 home win over the Missouri State Bears on Sunday afternoon, taking over sole possession of first place in the league standings with 2 games remaining on the schedule. UNI jumped out to a fast 13-2 lead in the first 4 minutes of play, leading the game for all but 64 seconds in a performance that saw the offense click on all cylinders. The Panthers shot 58.6% from the floor with 5 players scoring in double-figures, led by AJ Green's team-high 21 points. Noah Carter continued his streak of strong play with a 17-point game and game-high 8 rebounds, as Bowen Born also notched 17 points, setting a new season-high mark. Trae Berhow scored 15 points in the win, while Nate Heise recorded 14 points for UNI.

Indiana State (11-16; 4-11 MVC) will host the Panthers on a short turnaround after facing Drake on Monday night in Des Moines, which comes 2 days after the Sycamores fell to Southern Illinois 76-72 at the Hulman Center. Kailex Stephens scored a season-high 21 points with 6 rebounds in last weekend's loss to the Salukis, while Cooper Neese notched 19 points and 5 rebounds. Cameron Henry posted a 10-point, 11 rebound double-double, as Xavier Bledson scored 10 points off the bench.

In the first meeting this season, the Panthers rallied from 17 points down for an 80-74 overtime win at home on Jan. 11, the largest comeback win in MVC play this season. After an AJ Green game-tying jumper with 18 seconds to go in regulation, UNI held the Sycamores to just 2 points in overtime, giving the Panthers a 4th consecutive win in the first 5 game winning streak of the season. Noah Carter led UNI with a team-high 17 points, shooting 60% from the field and making 4-of-6 three-point attempts. AJ Green notched 16 points with 4 rebounds, while Bowen Born scored 14 points off the bench. Nate Heise also contributed 10 points in UNI's come from behind victory.

The Sycamores hold a narrow 33-30 lead in the all-time series as the Panthers seek a third straight win. UNI looks to complete the season sweep of Indiana State and pick up the program's first win in Terre Haute since the 2014-15 season. The Panthers have averaged 72.3 points per game, going 8-3 since last matching up the Sycamores on Jan. 11. Indiana State has scored 65.7 points a game while going 3-9 since mid-January.

PANTHER NOTES

UNI posts the top scoring offensive in MVC games only, averaging 75.3 points per game. The Panthers also lead the league in free throw percentage (82.1%) and made three-point field goals per game (8.6) in league play.
Noah Carter has scored at least 15 points in 12 of UNI's 16 conference games this season, including a career-high 33 points at Valparaiso.
AJ Green has made his 36 consecutive free throw attempts. Green's last miss at the charity stripe came on Feb. 5 at Drake.
5 of UNI's last 7 road games have been decided by 5 points or less, with the Panthers going 4-3 during that 7-game stretch.
AJ Green leads the Missouri Valley Conference in points per game in league play (20.5). Noah Carter is 6th in the MVC with 16.5 points a game in conference only games.
AJ Green currently holds the 4th best career free throw percentage in MVC history at 89.6%, a mark that also ranks 1st in UNI history.
Austin Phyfe is 13 points from passing his father Steve in career points scored for the Panthers. Steve Phyfe, who played at UNI from 1987-90 and was part of the program's first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament team in 1990, scored 912 career points for the Panthers, ranking 55th in program history.

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