ST. LOUIS --- UNI shot the lights out in the first half and held on defensively as the ninth-seeded Panthers edged the eighth-seeded Illinois State Redbirds 75-62 in the opening game of Arch Madness on Thursday afternoon at Enterprise Center.
The Panthers have now won 10 consecutive games against the Redbirds, and four straight against Illinois State in the MVC Tournament.
Bowen Born and Tytan Anderson hit a pair of early three-point shots in the first half, while Trey Campbell scored 5 straight points to spark an offensively efficient first half for the Panthers.