Red-Hot UNI Off To Best Start in 51 Years; Defeats Denver, 65-55

The UNI men's basketball team is 9-0 to start a season for the first time in more than a half century. The No. 23/24-ranked Panthers kept their record perfect with a 65-55 road victory at Denver Wednesday night (December 10, 2014).

UNI blistered the nets with 70 percent shooting (21-of-30) for the game and was led by senior forward Seth Tuttle’s 12 points. Denver (4-4 overall) was led by Nate Engesser and Marcus Byrd, who each tallied 15 points.

The Panthers started the game on fire, making their first seven shots while building a 19-8 lead. UNI continued the hot shooting throughout the first 20 minutes, going 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the field.

UNI led by as many as 22 points in the first half and owned a 42-25 lead at halftime.

Denver outscored the Panthers, 30-23, in the second half, but the Pioneers never narrowed the deficit to single digits.

The victory marks only the third time in program history -- and the first in 51 years -- the Panthers have started a season 9-0. In 1963-64, UNI (then called State College of Iowa) ended with a 23-4 mark under head coach Norm Stewart. In 1922-23, Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) finished with an overall mark of 10-1 under head coach L.L. Mendenhall.

UNI has another road game this weekend, playing the Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) Rams in Richmond, Va. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (Iowa time) on Saturday. The game will be televised by NBC Sports Network.

NOTES: UNI limited Denver to only four rebounds in the first half … the Panthers made their first seven shots of the game … UNI closed the first half by making its final five shots from the field … Tuttle reached double figures for the 26th straight game … Deon Mitchell has scored 997 career points following Wednesday’s game … UNI out-rebounded Denver, 21-13 … UNI drained 19-of-23 free throws.