Cedar Falls, IA -- The Bradley Braves fall to the UNI Panthers 61-49.
The Bradley Braves came up short against the UNI Panthers, falling 61-49 in Missouri Valley Conference action. The loss drops Bradley to 16-9 overall and 9-5 in MVC play, while Northern Iowa improves to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in conference action.
UNI led 30-23 at halftime after holding Bradley to just 26.1% shooting in the opening period. While the Braves improved offensively in the second half to shooting 42%, Northern Iowa countered with a balanced scoring effort and a stronger interior presence, extending the margin and securing the 12-point victory.
Ben Schwieger paced UNI with a game-high 15 points, adding three steals while shooting 5-of-9 from the field. Kyle Pock provided a spark off the bench with 10 points in just 11 minutes, and Will Hornseth filled the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. The Panthers held a 33-26 rebounding advantage and capitalized on Bradley's mistakes, scoring 20 points off 16 turnovers. UNI also controlled the paint for much of the contest, outscoring the Braves 30-10 inside.
Bradley was led by Jaquan Johnson, who finished with 14 points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting night and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Alex Huibregtse added nine points, all from beyond the arc, as the Braves connected on 39.1% of their three-point attempts. However, Bradley struggled overall from the floor, shooting 33.3% and managing just 10 points in the paint. Six of the remaining eight Braves who entered the game combined for 35 points on 10-of-26 shooting (Alex Huibregtse, AJ Smith, Timoty van der Knaap, Corey Thomas, Montana Wheeler, and Ahmet Jonovic).
The game featured three ties and four lead changes, with Bradley cutting what was a near 20 point deficit down to 11 with four minutes remaining. However, UNI regained control following a corner three from Max Weisbrod followed by only allowing one more made FG for the remainder of the contest. With the win Northern Iowa improves to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in MVC play, while Bradley moves to 16-9 overall and 9-5 in conference action.
Bradley will return to action Monday night when they welcome the Belmont Bruins. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+, and fans can also listen to the Bradley Basketball radio broadcast with Dave Snell and Chad Kleine.