University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
20-12,11-9MVC
Evansville
7-25,3-17MVC
UNI men’s basketball outlasts Evansville in Arch Madness opener
3/6/2026 12:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Campbell scores 23 with a double-double from Smith in opening round win. Panthers take on Illinois State on Friday night.
ST. LOUIS --- The UNI men's basketball team rallied from a one-point halftime deficit and led the entire second half on Thursday night, narrowly edging the Evansville Purple Aces in the opening round of the 2026 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament ("Arch Madness") by a score of 68-59.
Battling against a resilient Evansville squad, Northern Iowa saw four players score in double figures for the fifth time in the last seven games with Trey Campbell knocking down a season-high tying five three-point field goals and Tristan Smith notching a double-double with a new season-high 13 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers jumped out to a healthy 12-point lead in the first half as Trey Campbell knocked down three shots from beyond the arc for an 11-point half. UNI assisted on nine of its 12 made baskets in the opening frame and outscored the Purple Aces by an 8-0 margin off eight Evansville turnovers, but would give up seven three-pointers as Evansville slowly chipped away at the Panther lead. Northern Iowa led for all but 0.6 seconds in the half until Evansville's AJ Casey hit the go-ahead three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Purple Aces a 36-35 halftime lead. Will Hornseth added ten points in the first frame with five rebounds, while Tristan Smith scored five points with four boards in the first 20 minutes.
UNI stormed out of the gate on both ends of the floor to open the second half with a 6-0 scoring run to retake the lead and never looked back despite a stout effort from the Purple Aces. After giving up seven three-pointers to Evansville in the first half, the Panthers held the Purple Aces to just two in the final period and 28% shooting overall to end the night. Leon Bond III threw down a pair of dunks for Northern Iowa as Campbell's deep and mid-range shooting contributed 12 points to his total for the game as UNI slowly pulled away in the final two minutes to hold on for the nine-point victory.
Campbell finished the night with a game-high 23 points on eight-of-19 shooting with a career-high three blocked shots, while Hornseth posted 13 points and eight rebounds. Smith notched a ten-point, 13 rebound double-double, as Bond also finished with ten points. Max Weisbrod scored seven points in the Panther win.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 39-30 all-time against Evansville with its fourth straight win over the Purple Aces. The Panthers are also now 5-0 against Evansville at Arch Madness, 30-27 all-time in MVC Tournament games, 6-7 in opening round matchups and 4-0 in the first round under head coach Ben Jacobson
- With Thursday's win, Ben Jacobson tied former Creighton coach Dana Altman with his 21st MVC Tournament victory, the most in the 50-year history of the tournament.
- The Panthers secured their 16th 20-win season in program history on Thursday, their 11th under Jacobson and first time doing so in consecutive years since the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
- UNI improves to 15-3 this season when allowing 60 points or fewer.
- Northern Iowa has made at least one three-pointer in 179 consecutive games, a streak dating back to the 2020-21 season.
- Trey Campbell started his 128th career game on Thursday, extending his streak to lead all active MVC players. Campbell has also started 96 consecutive contests.
- Campbell also needs just three rebounds to become the first player in team history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a career.
- Campbell's lone steal of the game tied him with Nick Nurse (1986-89) for third all-time in program history with 165 career steals. He also passed Kwadzo Ahelegbe (2006-11) for 12th on UNI's all-time scoring list (1,341) with his fourth 20+ point game of the year (tenth of career), and Bowen Born (2020-24) for fourth on the Panthers' three-pointers made list (210).
- Will Hornseth has now scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games and 21 times over this season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will take on third-seeded Illinois State in the quarterfinals of Arch Madness tomorrow night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT at Enterprise Center with live coverage available on the MVC TV Network/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.
