CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – University of Evansville senior AJ Casey erupted for 17 points, all in the second half, to lead the Purple Aces men's basketball squad in a 71-55 setback at UNI on Saturday afternoon.

---

Box Score

---

Casey was 0-for-4 in the opening half before knocking down 8 of his 10 attempts in the final stanza. He added a game-high 11 rebounds to finish with his first collegiate double-double. Joining him in double figures was Leif Moeller who scored 14. Alex Hemenway added eight tallies. Four UNI players scored in double digits led by Will Hornseth's 21 points. Ben Schwieger had a double-double with 10 points and 10 caroms.
 
"It was a tough start with Connor (Turnbull) being out and Josh (Hughes) picking up two early fouls, but give Northern Iowa credit for how they played," UE head coach David Ragland said. "I like the offensive execution that we had in the second half and how we rebounded from a tough start."
 
Josh Hughes converted on UE's opening possession before Leif Moeller connected on the first triple of the day to put the Purple Aces in front 5-0 in the first two minutes. UNI quickly rallied back with a 15-0 run to jump in front at 15-5 inside of the 14-minute mark. The Panthers hit six shots in a row to open the lead.
 
Bryce Quinet knocked down a pair of free throws while James Dyson-Merwe finished down low to cut the deficit to six points (17-11) two minutes later, however, another UNI run pushed the lead back to double figures as they scored the next seven to go up 24-11. They continued to add to the advantage, opening a 36-16 lead with 5:06 remaining before going up by as many as 23 in the period before taking a 41-21 lead into the half. Alex Hemenway hit a 3-pointer for the Aces with 1:33 remaining.
 
After opening the game 2-for-3 from the field, the Aces finished the half hitting just five of their final 22 attempts. On the other side, Northern Iowa missed its first two field goal tries before completing the half connecting on 16 of their next 28 attempts.
 
The opening five points of the second half belonged to the Panthers as they pushed the lead to a game-high 25 points – 46-21. AJ Casey scored his first points of the game to get UE on the board. Casey posted Evansville's first ten points of the period as the score stood at 55-31 heading into the final 11 minutes. UNI extended their advantage to 26 points with 10:51 remaining before the Aces began to close in.
 
Leif Moeller drained a triple as part of an 8-0 stretch by UE that made it a 57-39 game at the 8:28 mark. Two triples by the Panthers saw them go back up by 26 with 5:30 remaining before UE utilized its outside shooting to get even closer. Triples by Hemenway, Casey, and Moeller cut the deficit to 17 (67-50) with 3:02 left, but the Panthers proved to be too much as they cruised to the 16-point win.
 
UNI shot 54.7% on the day while the Aces shot 40.4%. UE performed better in the final 20 minutes, shooting 51.9%. The Panthers completed the day with a 32-24 edge on the glass. UE is back home on Tuesday evening to face Indiana State at 7 p.m.