CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (Interstat) — Greyson Uelmen scored 27 points and Northern Iowa used a decisive close to the first half to beat visiting Green Bay 89-76 on Tuesday in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game at McLeod Center. Attendance was 2,969. Northern Iowa improved to 2-1, while Green Bay fell to 2-2. The Panthers, playing at home, led 46-30 at halftime after closing the opening period with eight unanswered points. Green Bay outscored Northern Iowa 46-43 after halftime but could not erase the deficit.

Uelmen, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard from Excelsior, Minnesota, finished with 2 rebounds and 4 assists in 33 minutes. He entered the game after scoring 15 points at Furman and 17 points against Cornell College in Northern Iowa’s previous two games. His scoring helped steady the Panthers as Green Bay tried to rally after halftime, and his free throws in the final minutes helped protect the lead. Uelmen scored 10 points in the first half and 17 after halftime.

Orlando Lovejoy had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists for Green Bay in 34 minutes. Ne’Quan Brown added 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in 35 minutes. Carson Vis scored 17 points with 3 rebounds and 5 assists for Northern Iowa in 32 minutes. Isaiah Johnson-Arigu had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 30 minutes. Tate McCubbin finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 35 minutes. Levi Valdo scored 15 points with 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 23 minutes. Ahmere Carson had 14 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block in 29 minutes. Marcus Hall scored 15 points with 1 rebound and 1 assist in 34 minutes. Maruan Cicic added 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 20 minutes.

Northern Iowa shot 33 of 49 from the floor, 10 of 19 from 3-point range and 13 of 16 from the free-throw line. Green Bay shot 30 of 64 from the field, 7 of 27 from beyond the arc and 9 of 13 from the line. Northern Iowa finished with an offensive rating of 135.7 on 66 possessions. Green Bay had an offensive rating of 109.9 on 69 possessions. Green Bay held a 14-4 edge in offensive rebounds. Northern Iowa had a 9-6 advantage in assists and a 3-2 edge in blocks. Both teams committed 13 turnovers. Green Bay was called for 17 fouls, and Northern Iowa was called for 16. Each team scored 46 points in the paint. Green Bay scored 22 points off turnovers to Northern Iowa’s 20 and had 10 fastbreak points to Northern Iowa’s 16.

Green Bay entered after winning 76-67 at Saint Thomas, losing 81-64 at Cincinnati and beating Lawrence 94-51. Northern Iowa entered after losing 98-83 at Furman and beating Cornell College 106-70. Northern Iowa next plays at Michigan State, then at Oakland, before hosting Lindenwood. Green Bay next hosts Viterbo, then travels to West Florida and Florida State.

The game opened with Maruan Cicic’s tip-in layup for Green Bay, but Northern Iowa answered with consecutive 3-pointers from Carson Vis. Marcus Hall hit two 3-pointers for the Phoenix to help keep the game close early. Uelmen’s driving layup and 3-pointer helped Northern Iowa settle in, while Lovejoy and Brown kept Green Bay within striking distance. Northern Iowa began to separate midway through the first half as Uelmen, Johnson-Arigu and Vis produced a run that turned a 20-20 tie into a 46-30 halftime lead. The Panthers closed the half with eight straight points, capped by Uelmen’s layup in the final seconds.

From there, Northern Iowa took control before the break. Valdo scored inside, Kyle Pock hit a 3-pointer, McCubbin made a layup and Uelmen scored in the paint. Johnson-Arigu added a layup and two 3-pointers, including a second-chance 3, and Vis and Valdo closed the half with baskets. Uelmen’s layup with 8.1 seconds left made it 46-30 at the break.

McCubbin opened the second half with a driving layup. Lovejoy made a layup and free throw, and Brown hit a 3-pointer with 17:57 remaining to make it 50-38. Uelmen and Vis answered with layups, but Brown made another 3-pointer off a second chance and a third 3-pointer at 12:54 to keep Green Bay within 58-44. Uelmen hit 3-pointers at 12:33 and 11:10, and Valdo scored twice inside as Northern Iowa rebuilt a 66-46 lead. Lovejoy scored in the paint, Ahmere Carson made a free throw, and Valdo hit a 3-pointer for a 69-49 Northern Iowa lead. Green Bay then mounted its best run of the second half. Brown scored on a driving layup, Ahmere Carson made a tip-in, Clarence Payia dunked and Ahmere Carson made another layup to cut the lead to 69-57. McCubbin made two free throws, Lovejoy made two free throws, Brown made two free throws and Valdo scored inside as Northern Iowa held a 73-61 lead. Lovejoy and Ahmere Carson kept scoring for Green Bay, but Uelmen’s layup and Johnson-Arigu’s late driving layup helped Northern Iowa stay in control. Ahmere Carson’s 3-pointer with 3:23 left pulled Green Bay within 78-70. Northern Iowa answered with free throws from Uelmen and a driving layup by Johnson-Arigu. McCubbin’s alley-oop with 43.8 seconds remaining pushed the lead to 87-72, and Uelmen made four free throws in the final minute before Keegan Van Kauwenberg’s late layup for Green Bay set the final margin.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Green Bay 72, Northern Iowa 71. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Northern Iowa with a 92.3 percent probability to win. Northern Iowa had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -3.5. The combined score of 165 went under the over/under line of 150.5.