Panthers Drop Exhibition Opener At Wisconsin
The UNI men's basketball team made its season debut, playing a hurricane relief benefit game at Wisconsin Wednesday night (Nov. 1, 2017). The Panthers dropped their exhibition opener, falling to the Badgers, 69-38, at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Juwan McCloud, a native of Germantown, Wis., led UNI with 10 points and tied for team-high honors with four rebounds.
McCloud scored the Panthers' first 10 points of the game and helped UNI jump out to a 10-2 lead with 13:20 left in the first half. Wisconsin then responded with a 20-2 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Kobe King at the 6:11 mark. The Badgers led 35-18 at the intermission.
The Panthers scored the first seven points of the second half on baskets from sophomore Isaiah Brown and Tywhon Pickford that trimmed Wisconsin's advantage to 35-25. From there, the Badgers went on a 27-3 run to take a 62-28 lead with 5:31 left in the contest.
King tallied 15 points and finished the night as Wisconsin's top scorer. He was among a group of reserves that outscored the UNI's bench 40-12.
Wednesday's match-up was a hurricane relief game, played to raise money for the victims of recent hurricanes in the southern United States and Puerto Rico, and wildfires in northern California.
UP NEXT: UNI will play its second and final exhibition game at 1 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 5), when the Panthers host North Carolina-Pembroke at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. The Braves are coached by Ben Miller, the son of former UNI head coach Eldon Miller, who guided the Panthers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990 and a monumental upset of third-seeded Missouri in the first round. UNI will honor Eldon Miller and the 1989-90 basketball team as a part of the weekend festivities.