The UNI basketball team got off to a 10-2 lead and never trailed as the Panthers defeated North Dakota 77-66 in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com tournament last night. The Panthers led by as many as 19 and North Dakota never got any closer than 9 points in the second half.  The Panthers had not played in nearly two weeks, but didn’t show any signs of rust offensively, as they connected on nine three-pointers and hit 51 percent of their shots from the field.  Anthony James led UNI with 24 points, while Seth Tuttle and Marc Sonnen both scored 19.  The Panthers will play again on Saturday night in another home game at the McLeod Center against an opponent to be determined. Jacobson says that with a short turnaround, the Panthers will have to focus on improving before Saturday.