The UNI Panthers earned head coach Ben Jacobson his 200th career victory with an 83-63 triumph over the University of Dubuque at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls Wednesday night (Nov. 25, 2015).

Jacobson becomes the ninth Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) coach to win at least 200 games in the league. In his 10th season with the Panthers, Jacobson now has a career record of 200-106. He has more victories at UNI than any other coach in program history.

The Panthers (3-1 overall) were led by Wes Washpun's 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Jeremy Morgan added his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior college transfer Aarias Austin recorded season-highs with 12 points and five rebounds for the Panthers.

UNI owned a 23-15 lead with 10:34 left in the half before Dubuque raced back to tie the game at 23-23 with 7:49 on the clock. The Panthers then countered with a 15-2 spurt to take a 38-25 edge, a run capped by Aarias Austin's three-pointer.

The run also included a dunk by Washpun, who earned his first MVC player of the week honor on Monday.

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The Spartans came back again. They scored the final six points of the half to cut UNI's advantage to 38-31 at intermission.

The Panthers built a 12-point lead twice in the second half, but a Dubuque rally cut the margin to six each time. UNI led 46-34 before the Spartans cut the deficit to 51-45. The Panthers pushed their lead back to 57-45 with 10:49 left, then a pair of Dubuque three-pointers cut the margin to 57-51 with 9:20 remaining in the game.

UNI pushed the lead back into double figures on the strength of buckets from Bennett Koch and Washpun, whose three-pointer with 5:51 left gave UNI a 69-56 lead. Wyatt Lohaus drained a pair of three-pointers in the closing minutes to push the winning margin to 20 points at 83-63.

The game was the first of the season for former Waverly-Shell Rock star Klint Carlson, who was held scoreless in his return from a three-game suspension.

Andre Norris tallied 20 points to lead Dubuque in scoring, while Oelwein product Jacob Mohlis chipped in 13.

While the game counts as victory on UNI's record, it's considered an exhibition contest for Dubuque (2-1), a Division-III opponent that's picked to win the Iowa Conference this season. The Spartans are coached by UNI alumnus Robbie Sieverding, who played for the Panthers from 1998-2002 and ranks No. 9 on UNI's all-time scoring list with 1,402 points.

NEXT UP FOR UNI: The Panthers play a road game at North Dakota (Jacobson's alma mater) on Saturday, Nov. 28. Tip-off is scheduled at 2 p.m. in Grand Forks, N.D.

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