University of Northern Iowa
10-7,4-2MVC
Illinois State
10-7,2-4MVC
Panther men’s hoops stuns Illinois State at the buzzer in road victory
1/11/2025 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Trey Campbell posts a career game as Anderson scores in final seconds. UNI hosts Evansville on Tuesday night.
NORMAL, Ill. --- Tytan Anderson put up the game winning layup as time expired on Saturday night as the UNI men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point deficit and seven-point halftime hole to stun the Illinois State Redbirds at CEFCU Arena in an 85-84 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) road win.
Aided by a career scoring night from Trey Campbell and a 57% team shooting mark, Northern Iowa closed the gap on the Redbirds in the second half after a difficult defense performance in the first 20 minutes to grab its tenth win of the year. The victory also marks the first game-winning shot at the final horn for the Panthers since Michael Duax's game winning layup at Valparaiso in January 2023.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First half turnovers and three-point shots by the Redbirds off takeaways hurt UNI throughout the first half as the Panthers struggled to contain the MVC's top three-point shooting team, which sank eight three-pointers in the first 20 minutes of play. The Panthers would keep pace with Illinois State's hot three-point shooting with six made triples, including three from Campbell. After a Redek Born jump shot gave UNI a 20-19 lead, the Redbirds rattled off a 12-0 scoring run before Campbell slowed the home team down with eight straight Panther points. Northern Iowa would score on its final two possessions with baskets by Anderson and Jacob Hutson to cut the Redbird lead to seven at halftime, trailing 43-36.
UNI would have to overcome foul trouble in the second frame but would gradually chip away at Illinois State's lead as Campbell shot five-of-seven from three-point range in the final 20 minutes. Holding the Redbirds under 50% shooting and operating at 65.4% shooting themselves, the Panthers tied and briefly took the lead on multiple possessions in the final minutes. With four seconds remaining, ISU's Johnny Kinziger gave the Redbirds a one point lead on a pair of free throws before Ben Schwieger inbounded the ball to Anderson, who drove up the left side of the paint for the game-winning layup as time expired.
Campbell finished the night with a career-high 30 points on ten made field goals and a career-best eight made three-pointers. Anderson recorded 14 points with seven rebounds and a season-high seven assists, with Schwiger also registering 14 points. Max Weisbrod tied his season-high with three made three-point shots for nine points, with Jacob Hutson scoring eight points.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI takes a 46-45 lead in the all-time series against the Redbirds with Saturday's win. The Panthers have won 11 of their last 12 matchups with Illinois State in a series that dates back to 1899.
- Saturday's victory was Northern Iowa's first of the season when trailing at halftime (1-7).
- Saturday's win was head coach Ben Jacobson's 199th career win against an MVC opponent in league play.
- The Panthers improve to 92-12 (.884) when scoring 80+ points under Ben Jacobson. UNI has won 29 of its last 34 games when surpassing 80 points in a game.
- Northern Iowa remains one of the nation's top shooting teams, entering the game with the second-highest field goal percentage in Division I. UNI has 50% or better now if ten of its 17 games this year.
- Trey Campbell's 30-point performance was the third-highest scoring game by an MVC player this year and second 30+ point game by a Panther this season after Leon Bond III's 37 point showing against Montana.
- Campbell's career-high eight three-pointers are tied for most by an MVC player this season, joining Jack Daughterty (Illinois State) and Mitch Mascari (Drake, twice).
- Jacob Hutson became the 115th member of UNI's 500 career point club. The Edina, Minnesota native previously scored 254 points at Loyola-Chicago (2020-23).
- Tytan Anderson is now just seven rebounds and 19 assists shy of becoming the fourth player in team history to record 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 200 assists in his career. Previous Panthers to reach this milestone include Seth Tuttle (2011-15), Eric Coleman (2004-08) and Ron Lemons (1975-79).
UP NEXT
Northern Iowa returns home on Tuesday, Jan. 14 as it hosts the Evansville Purple Aces. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center, with live coverage available on the Panther Sports Network and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
Tickets can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or by email at tickets@uni.edu.
UNI men's basketball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Men's Basketball), X (@UNImbb) and on Instagram (@uni_basketball). The full 2024-25 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
