Panthers win eighth straight game in rout

CEDAR FALLS (UNI) — The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team continued its winning ways Wednesday night with a 72-54 victory over Wyoming in the McLeod Center. The victory pushed the Panthers’ win streak to eight in a row.

The win also gave the Missouri Valley Conference a 5-4 triumph over the Mountain West Conference in a challenge between the two leagues.

Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer said UNI is a top-notch squad.

“They are a top-25 team,” Schroyer said in the post-game press conference. “They got the pieces you need — two post players, a point guard to run it and some wings to shoot the ball.”

UNI (9-1) used a 28-point effort from senior Jordan Eglseder and 15 second-half points from senior Ali Farokhmanesh to turn a 34-33 halftime lead into the 18-point victory margin. Wyoming fell to 6-6 on the season.

The Panthers started strong with a 7-0 burst out of the gates, but Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run as the Cowboys hit the home squad with full-court pressure. Wyoming continued its stifling defense and eventually built a 27-18 lead after a jumper by J.J. Davis at the 7:24 mark of the first half.

But the Panthers turned it up a notch and poured in a 11 straight to take a 29-27 lead with 3:53 remaining before intermission.

The final bucket of the run came on a 3-point basket from Kerwin Dunham on an assist from Kwadzo Ahelegbe. The squads then played a nip-and-tuck
affair until halftime as the Panthers took a 34-33 lead after 20 minutes of action.

UNI would not trail in the second half and kept Wyoming at bay as the Panthers opened an eight-point lead on a pair of free throws from Eglseder at the 14:23 mark. Wyoming would trim the margin to four at 48-44 on a jumper from Afam Muojeke.

From that point, the Panthers locked down the defensive side of the ball and Farokhmanesh made a pair of triples to up the lead to 10 at 58-48 with 7:48 to go.

The Panthers would eventually push the lead to 18 on a final 3-pointer from Farokhmanesh with 2:04 remaining in the game.