Green Bay Phoenix men lose to Northern Iowa

(GREEN BAY ATHLETICS) CEDAR FALLS, IOWA – The Green Bay men’s basketball finished with four players in double figures Tuesday night, but Northern Iowa pulled away for an 89-76 victory at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. The Panthers hot shooting was the difference on the night.

Green Bay dropped to 2-2 overall, while UNI improved to 2-1. The Panthers shot 67.3 percent from the floor and 52.6 percent from three-point range.

The Phoenix was led by Orlando Lovejoy, who scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting while adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Ne’quan Brown recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Marcus Hall chipped in 15 points on three made three-pointers, and Ahmere Carson added 14 points and five assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 6-2 early, Green Bay answered with back-to-back three-pointers from Hall to take a 10-8 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Phoenix remained in front 17-14 following a three-point play from Lovejoy with 13:55 remaining in the first half. Northern Iowa responded with a 24-9 run over the next 10 minutes to build separation and carried a 46-30 lead into the locker room.

Green Bay continued to battle in the second half, scoring 46 points after the break. Brown connected on three second-half triples, while Lovejoy scored 10 points in the final 20 minutes. A steal and fast-break dunk from Clarence Payia helped trim the deficit midway through the period, but the Panthers continued to answer key runs down the stretch.

Northern Iowa was paced by Greyson Uelmen’s game-high 27 points. Carson Vis added 17 points, Levi Valdo scored 15, and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu finished with 14 as four Panthers reached double figures.

GAME NOTES

• UNI slightly won the turnover battle, 14-13.
• Green Bay outrebounded Northern Iowa 30-21 and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds.
• The Phoenix scored 46 points in the paint.