ST. LOUIS, MO. — Fourth-seeded UNI overcame cold shooting and rode the hot hand of Tytan Anderson to hold off No. 5 seed Belmont, 67-62, in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Friday at the Enterprise Center.
The Panthers, capturing their fourth straight victory, improved their record to 19-13, while advancing to the semifinal round for the 12th time and first time since 2022.
UNI shot just 34.4 percent (21-61) - its second worst shooting performance of the season.
But junior swingman Tytan Anderson came through in the clutch leading all players on the floor in points (19), rebounds (career-high 19), steals (3) and blocks (2). He earned his fifth double-double of the season, including his third in the last four games. His rebounding output was the third most in an MVC Tournament game.
The Panthers outrebounded Belmont, 46-37, including a 25-16 advantage in the second half, to move to 15-5 when they out rebounded their opponent. UNI came in leading the MVC in getting to the free throw line and continued that trait, going 21-for-29 from the charity stripe, compared to Belmont only going 8-for-14.
UNI’s Jacob Hutson, who scored a total of 14 (6, 8) points in the previous two outings against Belmont, added 14 points, along with five boards. Nate Heise scored 13 to go with six rebounds. Trey Campbell hit a late trey and a free throw to finish with 11 points after scoring seven in the first half.
Belmont, which had a four-game winning streak snapped, fell to 20-13. The Bruins were held to a season low 62 points.
There were 12 lead changes and five ties in the contest which saw neither team own a lead bigger than five points.
UNI scored six straight points to rally from a 55-54 deficit aided by a technical foul by Belmont forward Malik Dia that resulted in a four-point swing with 5:52 left in the game. Bowen Born made one free throw on the technical foul and then Hutson made a three-point basket as the Panthers retained possession. Nate Heise followed with two free throws with 4:04 left to extend UNI’s lead to 60-54 which it never relinquished.
Belmont missed four of its last five shots in the closing 2:34 of the game. Campbell scored four of the last five UNI points on a three-point basket and free throw.
Guard Ja’kobi Gillespie led Belmont with 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Dia added 14 points. Jayce Willingham had his sixth game with seven rebounds or more with nine.
Cade Tyson, who scored 29 points last time the Bruins met UNI on Jan. 17, was held to 11 points.