University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
12-6,4-3MVC
UIC
8-10,3-4MVC
UNI men’s basketball drops home matchup to UIC
1/13/2026 8:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Schwieger scores 500th point as a Panther as Northern Iowa comes up short in home conference matchup.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Trey Campbell and Ben Schwieger posted season-high scoring performances, but the UNI men's basketball team was unable to overcome tough second half shooting in a 69-61 loss to the UIC Flames on Tuesday night in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Northern Iowa won the rebounding battle, including outrebounding the Flames by a 12-5 margin on offense, but was held without a three-point basket in the final frame. UNI was also outscored 13-3 on turnovers after giving away the ball 11 times.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Schwieger paced the Panther offense in the opening period with an impressive seven-for-seven shooting performance with 16 points and team-high five rebounds as UNI looked to shake off a slow shooting start. The Flames would build a six-point lead midway through the half but UNI would chip away thanks to 44% shooting and holding UIC to no three-point field goals. Northern Iowa stretched its lead to as many as five points in the final two and a half minutes with Campbell scoring 11 points and six points from Ismael Diouf to take a 32-29 lead into the break.
Will Hornseth gave UNI an early spark with four points out of halftime, but the Flames would respond with their first two three-point field goals of the game of consecutive possessions. After a back-and-forth fight in the first ten minutes of the half, UIC would seize control of the game's momentum, holding UNI to 34% shooting and without a three-point basket in the half. Campbell posted ten points in the final frame with nine points from Hornseth as the Flames iced the game late at the free throw line in the eight-point loss.
Campbell scored a season-high 21 points on eight-of-15 shooting in the loss, with Schwieger tying his season-high with 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Hornseth tallied all nine of his points in the second half along with six boards, with Diouf finishing with six points, Leon Bond III four points and two points from Kyle Pock.
"Right now we've made too many mistakes in the last two games," said head coach Ben Jacobson. "Our offense hurt us a bit tonight in that we didn't score around the rim or we turned it over and that gave them a couple easy baskets. We also didn't do what we were supposed to on a couple defensive possessions."
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI falls to 16-13 all-time against UIC, snapping a four-game winning streak against the Flames.
- Trey Campbell has hit at least one three-point field goal in each of his last 11 games, extending the longest such streak of his career.
- Ben Schwieger's 17-point game moved his UNI career total to 501, making him the 116th player in team history to score at least 500 points.
- Leon Bond III sits 67 points shy of his 500th point as a Panther.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 17 as they visit the Valparaiso Beacons. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at the Athletics-Recreation Center in northwest Indiana with live coverage available on the ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (93.5 The Mix).
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). Schedule and roster information, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
