University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
15-9,7-6MVC
Bradley
16-9,9-5MVC
UNI men’s hoops stifles Bradley in Panthers In Paradise victory
2/6/2026 10:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Panther defense shuts down Braves’ offense for 12-point win. UNI visits Murray State on Monday.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI men's basketball team shut down Bradley's offense and held the Braves to a season-low in points scored on Friday night as the Panthers captured a 61-49 win in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
In Northern Iowa's second annual Panthers In Paradise Game before a season-high 4,186 fans, the Panthers forced 16 turnovers and scored 30 points off takeaways to secure a regular season split of the Braves and improve to 7-6 in league play to open up the month of February.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Northern Iowa applied its pressing defense early into a low scoring battle to open the game. The Braves would use a 9-0 scoring run to take a five-point lead before UNI responded with an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead, including a fade away jump shot by RJ Taylor and layups by Ben Schwieger and Kyle Pock. The Panthers took advantage of eight first half turnovers by the Braves and scored ten points off Bradley turnovers while shooting 40.9% from the field and holding Bradley to 26%. Pock led the charge with ten first half points with nine points from Schwieger to take a 30-23 lead into halftime.
UNI extended its lead out of the break to as many as 19 points and continued its defensive pressure into the second half with eight more turnovers forced and ten points scored off takeaways. The Panthers' interior game came to life in the second half with 18 points in the paint, led by a team-high eight points in the period from Will Hornseth, as well as six points from Trey Campbell. Northern Iowa was also effective in the rebounding battle in the final frame, outmatching the Braves by a 4-0 margin on offense boards in the second half.
Schwieger finished the night with a game-high 15 points, while Hornseth scored ten points along with a career-high nine rebounds and career-high six assists. Pock finished with ten points and four boards, with Bond notching eight points, Campbell seven points and Max Weisbrod six points.
"We were good defensively tonight and our guys were dug in and I think it's only going to get better," said head coach Ben Jacobson. "We kept the ball above the free throw line and I thought Will and Ismael did a great job at the center position of getting out and putting two on the ball. We also had a great stretch in the first half from our bench as well."
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 38-41 all-time against the Braves with Friday's win, securing its third straight regular season split with Bradley with each of the six matchups being won by the home team.
- The Panthers are now 11-2 when holding opponents under 60 points this year. Friday also marked the fourth time this season UNI has held an opponent under 50 points as well (Coe, Evansville, Valparaiso, Bradley).
- Northern Iowa has now made at least one three-pointer in 171 consecutive games.
- UNI's defense forced 16 Bradley turnovers on Friday, tied for the most committed in a game by the Braves this year. The Panthers also outscored Bradley by a 30-10 margin off turnovers.
- Northern Iowa held the Braves to five-of-19 shooting from inside the arc.
- Kyle Pock's ten point performance marked his first game in double figures since Dec. 1 against Coe and first game against a Division I opponent since Nov. 26 against Tulsa.
- Graduate forward Tristan Smith returned to action for the Panthers on Friday after missing the last eight games with an injury, playing eight minutes with two rebounds.
- Leon Bond III sits just ten points shy of scoring his 500th point as a Panther.
- Trey Campbell started his 120th career game on Friday, tying him with Ben Jacobson (2002-06) for third-most in team history. Campbell also leads all active MVC players in career starts and has started 87 consecutive games.
- Campbell also passed Jeremy Morgan (2013-17) for 22nd on UNI's all-time scoring list with his 1,224th point. He is also one three-point shot attempt away from tying Jacobson for sixth-most in team history.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Monday, Feb. 9 when they travel to Kentucky to take on the Murray State Racers. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT at the CFSB Center with live coverage available on CBS Sports Network 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.
